Queen Elizabeth called Princess Diana's death a "huge loss to the country" in a handwritten letter she wrote just days after Diana died in a car crash in 1997.
The letter, which was written to Lady Henriette Abel Smith, one of the queen's aides at the time, was recently revealed.
In the letter, Elizabeth pointed out that Diana's death brought people together, despite how tragic it was. It also touched on how Diana's death impacted the royal family specifically.
"It was indeed dreadfully sad, and she is a huge loss to the country,” Elizabeth wrote, ABC News reported. “But the public reaction to her death and the service in the Abbey, seem to have united people round the world in a rather inspiring way.”
“William and Harry have been so brave and I am very proud of them,” she continued.
The queen gave a very emotional address to the people of London the night before Diana's funeral.
"[Diana] was an exceptional and gifted human being," Elizabeth said at the time. “In good times and bad, she never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness.”
The letter's reveal comes after Prince Harry recently spoke publicly about his mother's death, recounting what it was like to walk behind her casket.
"My mother had just died and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television," Harry said in an interview with Newsweek. "I don't think any child should be asked to do that under any circumstances. I don't think it would happen today."
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