Prince Harry's Lonely Landmark Moment Breaks Hearts

Prince Harry signing in on his first day at Eton College without Princess Diana three years after Prince William completed the milestone with his mother by his side has inspired sympathy online.

The Duke of Sussex joined his older brother, King Charles III, and Diana when it was William's time to sign in on his first day at the prestigious boarding school in 1995.

By the time Harry followed in his footsteps, though, it was September 1998 and almost exactly a year after Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997.

Her absence made for a more lonely affair for Harry as Charles alone joined him for the photo.

The moment was shared on TikTok with the message: "Context: When William entered Eton and signed, his mother was alive but when Harry entered Eton Diana was dead and could not be there with him. Poor Harry."

An on-screen caption read: "William being with his entire family at the time of singing [the guest book]. Harry 💔."

One reply read "poor harry that diana couldn't see him signing" while another read: "He deserves [so much] better."

Prince Harry revealed in his book Spare how at the time he still believed Princess Diana was alive and had gone into hiding to escape the media.

"With nothing to do but roam the castle and talk to myself, a suspicion took hold, which then became a firm belief," Harry wrote. "This was all a trick. And for once the trick wasn't being played by the people around me, or the press, but by Mummy. 'Her life's been miserable, she's been hounded, harassed, lied about, lied to. So she's staged an accident as a diversion and run away.'"

The duke described Eton as "a profound shock" and "heaven for brilliant boys," which meant "it could thus only be purgatory for one very unbrilliant boy," namely Harry.

When he tried to explain to staff that he was out of his depth, he said "they'd always say the same thing: 'Don't worry, you'll be all right. And don't forget you always have your brother here!'

"But I wasn't the one forgetting. Willy told me to pretend I didn't know him. 'What?' 'You don't know me, Harold. And I don't know you.'

"For the last two years, he explained, Eton had been his sanctuary. No kid brother tagging along, pestering him with questions, pushing up on his social circle. He was forging his own life, and he wasn't willing to give that up."

Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.