
If you didn't see the incredible throwback photos of Prince Harry (opens in new tab) in his dorm room at Eton College, an all-boy boarding school in Berkshire, please comb through them and allow your Wednesday to get a little better. However, if you did see them, you may have missed an incredibly tender slash heartbreaking detail.
When you look closely enough, you'll notice that Harry has a photo of his late mother, Princess Diana, on his desk. Harry's photoshoot in his dorm room (something I imagine every 18-year-old would want) was taken in 2003, just six years after his mom's death. Clearly he wanted to keep her memory alive while he was away from his father, brother, grandmother, and the rest of the royal family.
At the time of Diana's death, William was only 15 years old, and Harry was 12.
As young boys, it was even more difficult for them to experience their mother's death. Harry recalls the last time he spoke to his mother (opens in new tab) on the phone. “I can’t really, necessarily, remember what I said," Harry said in the HBO documentary, Diana, Our Mother, that aired last year. "But all I do remember is probably, you know, regretting for the rest of my life how short the phone call was. And if I’d known that was the last time I was going to speak to my mother—the things I would have said to her.”
Years later, Harry and William continue to honor their mother as the 21st anniversary of her death (opens in new tab) approaches on August 31.
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Rachel Epstein is a writer, editor, and content strategist based in New York City. Most recently, she was the Managing Editor at Coveteur, where she oversaw the site’s day-to-day editorial operations. Previously, she was an editor at Marie Claire, where she wrote and edited culture, politics, and lifestyle stories ranging from op-eds to profiles to ambitious packages. She also launched and managed the site’s virtual book club, #ReadWithMC. Offline, she’s likely watching a Heat game or finding a new coffee shop.
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