The brothers’ appearance, following another coffin down the Mall, brought back memories of Princess Diana’s funeral procession 25 years ago. Then people worried about their grief. Now, there is grief over their strained relationship. As boys aged 15 and 12, the two looked almost lost in shock and grief. They were thin, dressed in black coats that seemed two sizes too big. They had just lost their mother – killed in a violent car crash in a Paris tunnel, pursued by paparazzi on motorbikes. She was 36, a year younger than Harry is today. Harry later said that he had tried to hide under his blows from the crowd on the route. He told Angela Levin, author of “Conversations with the Prince,” that he didn’t think such a scene should ever happen again. “I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances.” Queen Elizabeth live update: Crowds pay tribute to Queen as she lies in state at Westminster Hall He said, “No child should lose their mother at such a young age and then have their grief watched by thousands of people.” His older brother, William, spoke of his feelings of “numbness” that day. The funeral for Diana was raw emotion. Throngs of Britons were revealed weeping, a few almost defeated, in a kind of tabloid fever dream. Wednesday’s mourning was much more subdued. After all, the queen was 96 years old. The palace said it went peacefully. It was a sigh of relief when people heard he died, but less of a shock. Public interest in the two brothers remains high. Partly because we know their lives have diverged. William, 40, is the heir apparent, a dutiful second in command to their father, the new king. He has taken Charles’ previous titles: Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall. And he will oversee the Duchy of Cornwall, a vast collection of land across southern England worth about $1.2 billion, according to the most recent accounts. Harry, 37, lives in Southern California, making his own way and fortune, is preparing to publish a memoir that will air the royal family’s clothes and possibly his feelings of hurt and accusations that his father cut him off financially and that someone in the family was concerned about what color he and Megan’s children might be. Why the crown won’t go to Prince William. Even if some people want it. Although he was a captain in the British army and serving in Afghanistan, having renounced his royal duties, he was in civilian dress, as protocol dictated. In their interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, claimed that the royal family had worked against them as newlyweds. The interview also revealed the distance that had grown between the brothers, with Harry saying he and William didn’t speak much. He said he loved his brother but they were on “different paths”. Many watching the ritual mourning this week have looked for signs of reconciliation with each other. During the 30-minute walk from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday, the signs were difficult to read. The brothers did their duty.
