Prince William Says He and Harry Wished They Could ‘Protect’ Their Mother

Nearly 20 years after the death of their mother Princess Diana, Prince William and Harry are opening up about the days surrounding her death in a new BBC documentary, aptly titled Diana.

“Part of the reason why Harry and I want to do this is because we feel we owe it to her,” William, 34, says in the 90-minute film. “I think an element of it is feeling like we let her down when we were younger. We couldn’t protect her.”

The comments come ahead of the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death on Aug. 31.

William and Harry, 32, were just 15 and 12 when their mother died in a car crash in Paris. She was 36. Now, the men say they feel that they “owe” it to their mother to “stand up for her name and remind everybody of the character and person that she was.”

“I think it’s never going to be easy for the two of us to talk about our mother, but 20 years on seems like a good time to remind people of the difference that she made not just to the royal family but also to the world,” Harry says in the new documentary, according to the BBC.

Along with the princes, the program will include interviews with friends of Diana, politicians and journalists, all speaking about the days between her death and her funeral.

In the upcoming film, Harry recalls the days following his mother’s death, noting that it was “shocking” to see the outpouring of emotion and support as a result of the tragedy.

“It was beautiful at the same time, and it was amazing. Now, looking back at it, it was amazing that our mother had such a huge effect on so many people,” he says.

“When you’re that young and something like that happens to you, I think it’s lodged in here, there, wherever — in your heart, in your head and it stays there for a very, very long time.”

William recently opened up about his mother’s death in a revealing interview for British GQ’s July cover story.

The royal told the publication that although he is “in a better place” about the tragedy, he is sad that Diana won’t meet her grandchildren.

“I would like to have had her advice,” he said. “I would love her to have met Catherine and to have seen the children grow up. It makes me sad that she won’t, that they will never know her.”

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the royals will honor their mother with a statue that will stand in the shadow of her old home in London’s Kensington Palace.