'If I’d Known It Was the Last Call With Her' — Prince Harry on His Final Conversation With Princess Diana

The Duke recalled disliking phone conversations with his parents, which led him to talk to his mother reluctantly that day.

Prince Harry has been open about carrying grief after his mother, Princess Diana’s tragic death in 1997. In a recent interview with GQ Magazine, the Duke poignantly reflected on their last conversation and thoughtfully noted how circumstances would have changed had he known it would be their final conversation. 

“If I’d known it was the last call with her, how different that conversation would’ve been,” Harry told during the exclusive. “And I’m the one that has to live with that. And the fact that as a 12-year-old kid, all I wanted to do was go off and run and play with my cousins.”

The Duke further expressed that in moments of confusion, he always reflects inwardly, feeling a bond with his deceased mother. “Sometimes there’s questions that I ask her, looking for some kind of response, and sometimes I do get a response,” he said. "Maybe I’ve spent too much time in California, but having done the work that I’ve done, there is a connection still with my mom that I really do feel her energy at certain times and certain parts of my life,” Harry explained.

Hours before her death, Diana had called William and Harry at Balmoral, where they were eager to return to playing with cousins. This was the last time the Duke heard her voice. He echoed the same sentiments while appearing in the 2017 documentary Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy.

The Duke recalled disliking phone conversations with his parents, which is why he spoke to his mother reluctantly that day. "My turn. Off I go. It was her speaking from Paris. I can't necessarily remember what I said, but all I do remember is regretting for the rest of my life how short the phone call was," he said. After decades of emotional suppression, therapy enabled Harry to grieve and acknowledge his pain.

The Duke recently explored living with pain and grief in his MasterClass, "Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss," alongside Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor. During the conversation, he said he thinks about his mother nearly every day, reflecting on how much he misses her and how life and family dynamics would be different if she were still alive.