Young Princes' longest day
THEIR day in public had begun at 10.25 when Princes William and Harry appeared silently and a little hesitantly outside St James's Palace, ending a week of speculation about their role in the funeral procession.
They had come to play their part in the last day of the woman described simply in their card on the coffin as "Mummy".
William, 15, tall and distinguished-looking in a black suit, and Harry, who will be 13 in nine days' time, ran the public gauntlet before grieving at a private burial on an island on a Northamptonshire lake.
Prince Philip offered a few words of reassurance and comfort as the Princes prepared to step out behind the gun carriage bearing their mother's coffin.
The Princess's brother, Lord Spencer, crossed himself as the carriage passed him. Prince William clasped his hands in front of him and bowed his head as he took his place. For the 35 minutes of what must have seemed the longest walk in his life, William's eyes never left the ground.
He was flanked by his grandfather, Prince Philip, and his uncle. His brother and father were close by, the sympathetic crowds at his right hand.
Apparently oblivious to murmurs of "Oh, the poor boys", the Princes strode in slow, well-disciplined step. Not once, it seemed, would Prince William allow the spectators, or the cameras, a sight of his face. As they entered the dark passage through Horse Guards, a respite from the sun and the crowd, Lord Spencer gave Harry a hug and Prince Philip patted William.
During the early part of the Westminster Abbey service, 12-year-old Prince Harry had gazed straight at the coffin, high on its catafalque. William spent much of the time glancing down, his hand covering his face. He could be seen using it to wipe away the occasional tear.
The Prince of Wales appeared to be controlling his emotions. But when Lady Jane Fellowes, Diana's sister, gave a reading, he was clearly moved.
He took out a white handkerchief during the singing of the hymn The King of Love My Shepherd Is - one of the Princess's favourites - and wiped his eyes. William's head was still down, his right hand shielding his face.
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