Prince Harry Told Friends That Car Chase Was the “Closest I Have Ever Felt” to Understanding How Mother Princess Diana Died

Harry was only 12 when his mother died in a Paris car accident, after being pursued by paparazzi.

Princess Diana and Prince Harry
(Image credit: Getty)
Rachel Burchfield
By Rachel Burchfield
published

Ever since hearing about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “near catastrophic car chase” on Tuesday night in New York City, surely many people’s minds immediately went to Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, and the last night of her life (and, let’s be honest, copious nights before)—relentlessly chased by paparazzi until, finally, the chase ended for good in a tunnel in Paris, France. Diana died as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident on August 31, 1997, at just 36 years old. Harry, her younger son, was only 12, two weeks shy of his thirteenth birthday.

No doubt this incident this week triggered memories of his mother, and People reports that Harry told friends that the car chase—which he was involved in with Meghan and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland—brought him closer to understanding how his mother died, nearly 26 years ago. 

Princess Diana

(Image credit: Getty)

Harry, according to The Times, told friends that the chase was the “closest I have ever felt” to understanding what happened that late August night in the City of Lights. In his memoir, Spare—released this past January to much fanfare—Harry recalled driving through the Alma Tunnel, where Diana lost her life after the Mercedes she was a passenger in impacted the tunnel’s thirteenth pillar.

Princess Diana

(Image credit: Getty)

Diana’s accident happened as she and Dodi Fayed traveled from the Ritz Paris to Fayed’s apartment. Harry and Meghan’s chase occurred after the couple left an event honoring Meghan in Manhattan and were driving to a private residence, where they were staying for the evening, People reports.

Rachel Burchfield
Rachel Burchfield
Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more. 

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