Prince Harry has spoken about how he struggled to remember his mother’s voice and laugh after her death.
In the MasterClass series Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss, Harry reflected on losing Princess Diana when he was just 12.
He said he had forgotten what she sounded like and found it hard to picture her face without looking at a photograph.
Harry explained that his therapist later introduced him to a method that uses scent to bring back memories. He said the technique had also been used by military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Smelling his mother’s scent helped him reconnect with memories he had struggled to reach. He compared his emotional barriers to a wall and said the scent opened gaps that allowed memories and feelings to come through.
Harry also recalled how difficult it was for him and his brother, Prince William, to meet people mourning their mother.
He remembered shaking hands with people whose hands were wet from wiping away tears. Seeing their grief made him feel almost guilty because he could not show the same emotion.
He said it felt strange to see people crying so openly for his mother when they had never met her.
Princess Diana died in a car accident on August 31, 1997.
