London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jan 06, 2026

Diana memories made Queen's procession challenging - William

Diana memories made Queen's procession challenging - William

The Prince of Wales said walking behind the Queen's coffin "brought back a few memories" of his mother's funeral as he spoke to well-wishers in Norfolk.

Prince William said it had been "challenging", as he and the Princess of Wales viewed floral tributes left outside Sandringham House.

He and his brother walked behind the gun carriage in Wednesday's procession, echoing Princess Diana's funeral.

Members of the Royal Family conducted visits as official mourning continued.

After viewing some of the hundreds of tributes to the late monarch, who died last week, outside the gates at Sandringham, Prince William and Catherine spoke to those gathered there.

Speaking to one woman, Prince William said: "I mean the walk yesterday was challenging, it brought back a few memories..."

Among those he spoke to was receptionist Jane Wells, from Long Sutton in Lincolnshire, who said she had told the prince how proud his mother would have been of him.

"He said how hard it was yesterday because it brought back memories of his mother's funeral," she said.

Caroline Barwick-Walters, of Neath in Wales, said she told Prince William "thank you for sharing your grief with the nation", and that he replied "she was everybody's grandmother".

Prince William, then 15, and his brother, Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex, then 12, walked with their father, King Charles III, behind the coffin of their mother, Princess Diana, in September 1997.

They were side by side again as they solemnly escorted the Queen's coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster on Wednesday.

Speaking in 2017, Prince Harry described walking behind his mother's coffin as a child as something that would not happen now.

He told Newsweek: "I don't think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don't think it would happen today."

Princes William and Harry at Princess Diana's funeral in 1997

They joined their father King Charles in walking behind the Queen's coffin on Wednesday


Sandringham House has been a royal residence for four generations of British monarchs for a period of more than 150 years, and has traditionally been where the Queen spent her Christmas break.

She gifted Anmer Hall, a Georgian country house which is part of the Sandringham estate, to Prince William and Catherine after their wedding.

The couple made it their main home for several years while their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte were young.

Meanwhile, the King returned to Highgrove, his country home in Gloucestershire, where a spokesman said he was attending to state business.

Other members of the Royal Family have also been on visits on Thursday.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex - the Queen's youngest son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie - met well-wishers and viewed tributes in Manchester's St Ann's Square.

The couple were shown a book of condolence at Manchester's Central Library, before lighting a candle in memory of the Queen at Manchester Cathedral.

The Princess Royal - the Queen's only daughter Princess Anne - travelled to Glasgow to meet representatives of organisations of which the Queen was patron.

On Wednesday, members of the Royal Family marched behind the Queen's coffin as it travelled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where she is lying-in-state.

Thousands have queued for hours to view the coffin, which people can visit 24 hours a day until 06:30 BST on 19 September - the day of her funeral.

At 20:00 on Thursday the queue was nearly five miles (8km) long, with queuing time estimated to be eight-and-a-half hours.

Many more people are expected to come to the capital to pay their respects over the next three days, as the country prepares to say a final farewell to its longest-reigning monarch.

Some details have been released for the Queen's state funeral, which will be held at Westminster Abbey and is likely to be one of the biggest single ceremonial events staged in Britain since World War Two.

Thousands of people have left flowers and tributes outside Sandringham House


Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, spoke to crowds in Glasgow

The Earl and Countess of Wessex lit a candle in memory of the Queen at Manchester Cathedral


Prince William: Procession was "challenging" and "brought back memories"

Prince and Princess of Wales meet Sandringham crowd


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas Service
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
UK Mortgage Rates Edge Lower as Bank of England Base Rate Cut Filters Through Lending Market
U.S. Supermarket Gives Customers Free Groceries for Christmas After Computer Glitch
Air India ‘Finds’ a Plane That Vanished 13 Years Ago
Caviar and Foie Gras? China Is Becoming a Luxury Food Powerhouse
Hong Kong Climbs to Second Globally in 2025 Tourism Rankings Behind Bangkok
From Sunniest Year on Record to Terror Plots and Sports Triumphs: The UK’s Defining Stories of 2025
Greta Thunberg Released on Bail After Arrest at London Pro-Palestinian Demonstration
Banksy Unveils New Winter Mural in London Amid Festive Season Excitement
UK Households Face Rising Financial Strain as Tax Increases Bite and Growth Loses Momentum
UK Government Approves Universal Studios Theme Park in Bedford Poised to Rival Disneyland Paris
UK Gambling Shares Slide as Traders Respond to Steep Tax Rises and Sector Uncertainty
Starmer and Trump Coordinate on Ukraine Peace Efforts in Latest Diplomatic Call
The Pilot Barricaded Himself in the Cockpit and Refused to Take Off: "We Are Not Leaving Until I Receive My Salary"
×