She was renowned for her charity work and her impeccable sense of style, but through it all, Princess Diana cherished one role above all others – that of a mother to her two beloved boys, Prince William and Prince Harry.
While they were just 15 and 12 years old when Diana was tragically killed in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997, the memory of her legacy has never left them.
Speaking to People last year about the impact his mother had on his life, Harry revealed: “All I want to do is make my mother incredibly proud. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”
And while William has gone on to marry his long-time love, Kate Middleton, and have a family of his own now, the royal has also felt his mother’s presence every step of the way.
“When it came to the wedding, I did really feel that she was there,” he said in an interview that aired as part of the 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.”
With both William and Harry opening up more than ever before about their mother and their memories of her, it’s clear the People’s Princess has forged a lasting legacy that will continue to burn bright in her sons.
We take a look back at Princess Diana’s sweetest moments with her sons in the gallery below.
Diana and Charles are pictured leaving the hospital with a newborn Prince William.
The royal family pose for an official portrait, with wee William cradled in his mother’s arms.
“Time makes it easier. I still miss my mother every day — and it’s 20 years after she died,” Prince William has said of his beloved mother.
Princess Diana’s love for her children was well-known – she famously said: “Family is the most important thing in the world” .
In this newly released photo, a pregnant Diana (Harry was on the way!) holds William close.
The couple leave the hospital with baby Harry.
The family were often pictured while undertaking their public duties as royals.
One of the most poignant quotes Diana said had to do with love: “If you find someone you love in your life, then hang on to that love.”
A cheeky Prince Harry plays up for the crowds while his doting mother looks on.
Harry matches his mother as they take in the annual Trooping The Colour parade at Buckingham Palace in 1988.
Here, Diana and her sons are pictured at the Highgrove Royal Gardens in 1986.
Prince William talks about Diana’s death
The family enjoy a walk in the fresh air at the gardens.
Diana walks with her sons at the airport in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1986.
The family are pictured in Spain.
Back in the Highgrove Gardens, the royal brothers have some fun on the playground.
Since Diana’s death, Harry has vowed to continue her legacy. “We will do everything we can to make sure she’s never forgotten, and carry on all of the special gifts and such that she had and that she portrayed when she was alive. I hope that a lot of my mother’s talents are shown in the work that I do.”
While the princes initially held back from opening up too much about their mother, in the years since they have both made a conscious effort to share their memories.
The boys look adorable in their matching outfits!
Diana holds tightly onto her boys’ hands as they pose on the steps of the palace in Majorca in 1988.
The trio were incredibly tight-knit.
Diana and her boys are pictured visiting the Niagara Falls.
“”Every day, depending on what I’m doing, I wonder what it would be like if she was here, and what she would say, and how she would be making everybody else laugh,” Prince Harry has said of Diana.
The trio are all smiles as they visit an amusement park in 1993.
For Diana, her boys were the centre of her universe.
Prince Harry on making Princess Diana proud
Harry, William and Diana are pictured with their nanny Olga Powell in the background.
“Losing your mother at such a young age does end up shaping your life massively, of course it does. And now I find myself trying to be there and give advice to other people who are in similar positions,” Prince Harry has said.
“I never really dealt with what had actually happened. So there was a lot of buried emotion,” Prince Harry has said of bottling up his emotions after Diana’s death.
The family pose with William on his first day at Eton College.
The trio are pictured on a skiing trip.
