Prince William has confessed he and Prince Harry felt they let their mother down because they failed to protect her.

The Duke of Cambridge made the emotional admission in a major BBC interview about the week that followed Princess Diana’s death in a car crash in 1997.

He said he and his brother were finally ready to talk about their mother ‘because we feel we owe it to her’. He added: ‘I think an element of it is feeling like we let her down when we were younger’, shares Daily Mail.

William, who was 15 at the time, continued: ‘We couldn’t protect her. We feel we at least owe her 20 years on to stand up for her name and remind everybody of the character and person that she was. Do our duties as sons in protecting her.’

The interview will feature in a 90-minute BBC1 documentary to mark the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death in Paris in August 1997.

The princes told of the moment they heard the news that their mother had died, and described how they felt as young boys following their mother’s coffin at her funeral, a scene that moved the world.

Harry admitted he was shocked by the public’s show of love for his mother.

‘When she died there was such an outpour of emotion and love which was quite, which was shocking,’ he said.

‘It was beautiful at the same time, and it was amazing, now looking back at it, it was amazing that our mother had such a huge effect on so many people. When you’re that young and something like that happens to you I think it’s lodged in here, there, wherever – in your heart, in your head and it stays there for a very, very long time.

‘I think it’s never going to be easy for the two of us to talk about our mother, but 20 years on seems like a good time to remind people of the difference that she made not just to the Royal Family but also to the world.’

Two amazing brothers that are always continuing to make their mum proud I am sure.

Share your comments below.

Image via Getty