Prince Harry has revealed he saw photographs of Princess Diana 'slumped on the backseat' of her car after the 1997 Paris car crash that claimed her life.
The former senior royal, 38, made the revelation to CBS while promoting his new book Spare, which is being released tomorrow (10 January).
The explosive memoir includes allegations that Harry was physically attacked by his brother Prince William, and that William and Kate Middleton encouraged him to wear the Nazi uniform he was infamously photographed in at a 2005 fancy dress party.
Harry also reflects on the tragic death of his mother in the book, and in his CBS interview he explained the heartbreaking reason why he sought out pictures of Diana taken after the crash.
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The prince told 60 Minutes that he wanted to view pictures of his mum's fatal accident to confirm once and for all in his mind that she had passed away and had not, as he often wondered, faked her own death.
He said he spent years believing that one day she would 'reappear' and tell him and William that they could 'go and join her.'
Harry admitted that he was so convinced that Diana had faked her own death that it was something he once considered every morning.
He remembered thinking 'maybe this is the day that she's gonna reappear' and said his brother Prince William had 'similar thoughts'.
That's why, when was 20, Prince Harry asked to view pictures of the crash scene to put to bed the thoughts he had about Diana potentially faking her own death.
He said he wanted: "Proof that she was in the car. Proof that she was injured. And proof that the very paparazzi that chased her into the tunnel were the ones that were taking photographs - photographs of her lying half dead on the back seat of the car."
In his new book Spare, Harry wrote that after he saw the pictures of Diana, who died alongside her partner, Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul, he learned that the last thing she ever saw was a 'flash bulb'.
She said: "The pictures showed the reflection of a group of photographs taking photographs through the window, and the reflection on the window was - was them.
"All I saw was the back of my mum's head - slumped on the back seat."
It was then that he admitted that while there were 'other more gruesome photographs' taken, he is 'eternally grateful' that his press secretary denied 'me the ability to inflict pain on myself by seeing that.'
"Because that's the kinda stuff that sticks in your mind forever," he admitted.
Topics: Celebrity, Royal Family
Emma Guinness