I will never forget William and Harrys grief, says man who buried Di

The man who buried Diana, Princess of Wales a decade ago will never forget the look of grief on the faces of her sons William and Harry, as well as her former husband Prince Charles.

London, Aug 31 : The man who buried Diana, Princess of Wales a decade ago will never forget the look of grief on the faces of her sons William and Harry, as well as her former husband Prince Charles.

Former soldier Nigel Enright was selected to be one of a bearer party who carried Diana's coffin to her last resting place on an island at her family's Althorp estate in Northants in 1997.

Enright recalled that the one memory that will stay with him forever will be the then 15-year old William, and 12-year old Harry's faces etched with grief.

"I couldn't help seeing her sons' faces. That's a memory that will never leave me. And Charles too, it was unbelievable. It was the greatest and saddest honour I have ever had," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

Enright, a private from the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment - of which Di was colonel-in-chief, also revealed for the first time how he and the five other bearers prepared for the funeral.

The bearer party practised under the direction of Flight Sgt Gary Bennett of the Queen's Colour Squadron, RAF Regiment.

They used a coffin and sandbags to practise their 100ft walk that crossed the wooden bridge to Di's island grave.

"We knew it was a lead-lined coffin and was going to be heavy - but we had no idea of the exact weight. We just keep going over and over it. We had to get it right. We could not let the family or the Princess down," he said.

To make sure that no one knew the part they would be playing, the team checked into a hotel near Althrop claiming to be rugby players a day before the funeral.

On the day itself they spruced-up their uniforms and carried on practising.

"Our shoulders were all getting quite bruised. But it had to run smooth, just like clockwork. Hessian had been placed all along the wooden bridge to make sure we did not slip," he recalled.

However, he admits that the team nearly broke down when they saw the simple card from William and Harry for their mother.

"As the hearse arrived and the flowers were taken out, my eye caught sight of one wreath which just had the word "Mummy" on it. It was from William and Harry. That's when the emotion hit me. It was the first of many times during the service that I fought back tears," he said.

"My company sergeant major, Harry Wall, told us, 'If you are going to cry, then just cry. This is an emotional day for all of us'. All of us had tears in our eyes.

"As we moved into position, it was eerily quiet. You could just hear the wind. We waited and then out of the corner of my eye I could see members of the family as they arrived.

"I could see Charles walking with William and Harry.

"We had never rehearsed pulling the coffin from the car and still had no idea of the weight.

"There was a pause, which seemed like an eternity, then I put my hand on the handle of the coffin and we gently pulled it out.

"We realised it was much heavier than anything we had practised with. You could see the strain on the faces of the party. It was a massive shock.

"We carried the coffin across the bridge to the island and placed it on poles which were above the grave.

"I could see all the faces of the royals for the first time.

"I remember thinking, 'I must not look at them because if I do I am just going to break down'.

"So I tried not to make eye contact. We all had tears in our eyes already.

"I also remember thinking, 'This is William and Harry's mum and she is our boss and deserved our respect'."

"But as we gently lowered the coffin down, I couldn't help seeing her sons' faces.

"It wasn't until it was all over that the emotion finally took hold, though. I don't mind admitting we cried and cried for hours when we were back at the stables we used as a base," he added.

After the burial, Diana's brother Earl Spencer sent Enright's Commanding Officer a thank you letter, reading: "My sister would have been proud of her Regiment."

ANI