I remember being off school for summer vacation and feeling compelled to wake up really early that day. I walked downstairs and saw my mom awake, and watching tv. She looked at me and with sadness in her eyes, said "Princess Diana died." I remember being shocked and asking her to repeat herself. I quickly joined my mom on the couch and we continued to watch news coverage for the rest of the day. I later continued to watch it for the next several days.
I remember feeling horribly for William and Harry as I was only a year younger than Harry. I couldn't imagine how it would feel to have your mother taken away in such a horrific manner and at such at young age, while all being in the very public eye.
I again woke very early the day of the funeral. Being young this was my first experience with death. Though I didn't know her, or her family, I was still deeply saddened. I remember watching the Princes walking behind their mother, their heads bowed. Even at that age, all I wanted to do was reach out and give them a hug.
A couple weeks later I was back in school and my teacher's first assignment for us was to write a letter to the boys. Months later we received a reply, thanking us all for our kind words and prayers. To this day I still have a copy of that letter.