Investigator recalls talk with Harry, William after Diana’s death

Lord John Stevens has looked back on the “difficult” conversation he had with Prince William and Prince Harry after their mom, Princess Diana’s tragic death.

The former police chief, who was investigating the fatal 1997 car crash, said he spent about an hour talking to the two young boys.

“Yes, of course, it was a difficult thing [to do],” Stevens, 79, told Us Weekly on Tuesday,

“So, I went along with two other people who were part of the investigation [including a] detective inspector, and [when we were] outside the door [at Kensington Palace], it was said, ‘No, they only wanna see you,’ that’s me.”

He continued, “So, I went in there and we had … over an hour, probably, I can’t remember exactly how long. I outlined what the conclusions were for about 10 or 15 minutes and then the rest of the time was them asking me questions, which you’d expect because they didn’t know the circumstances of their mother’s death, where [and] when she’d died, what did she say and, and beyond that, I don’t wanna declare what the conversations were.”

Stevens, who will appear in Discovery+’s new “The Diana Investigations” docuseries, said the discussion was “very emotional” for both the Duke of Cambridge, 40, and the Duke of Sussex, 37, who were 15 and 12, respectively, at the time.

“I have to say, I was quite emotional about it myself,” he said.

“What they were angry about, they declared it publicly, were the paparazzi who they thought were very much behind what had taken place by chasing the car and making the car or inducing the car to go at 75 miles an hour. They weren’t too happy about that. I can tell you.”

William later revealed it took him “five to seven years” to process the loss.

“Slowly, you try to rebuild your life, you try to understand what happened. I kept myself busy, as well, to allow you to get yourself through that initial shock phase. We’re talking maybe as much as five to seven years afterwards,” William said during the 2017 HBO documentary, “Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.”

“You know, there was times when you look to someone or something for strength and I very much felt she was there for me,” he continued.

William is now a father to George, 9, Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4, whom he shares with the Duchess of Cambridge, 40, and tries to keep his mom’s legacy alive.

“We’ve got more photos up around the house of her, and we talk about her a bit and stuff. And it’s hard because obviously my wife didn’t know her, so she cannot really provide that level of detail,” he said.

“I do regularly, [while] putting George and Charlotte to bed … and just try to remind them that there are two grandmothers — there were two grandmothers in their lives. And it’s important they know who she was and that she existed.”

He also unveiled a statue dedicated to his late mom in Kensington Palace, alongside his younger brother last year.

“Strength and character – qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better,” William and Harry said in a joint July 2021 statement during the unveiling. “Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy.”