Callistemon21
^A 9 year old (or a 12 year old as I think William was) does not have anywhere near the same understanding or ability to deal with things and make decisions as a 16 year old does^
Harry was 12 and William was 15 when Diana died.
At least they both had the love of a wider family to comfort them, the Queen in particular providing love and sanctuary at that time, until Blair intervened and cruelly forced them both on to the world stage.
Sorry, I meant Harry! I think it was a very unwise decision to propose to them, ask them, or whatever happened to walk behind their mother’s coffin, because they would be so exposed to the world’s gaze if they showed emotion, and because they were brought up not to show it in public felt they had to behave in a certain way. I can’t believe Tony Blair did any more than suggest it, the decision would have been made by Charles and the Queen. That is a huge burden to place on a 12 year old, whoever was there to support him, he was still a child - and by the sounds of it already had emotional problems, which the family would have known about. He is the master of his own destiny as an adult, but at 12 he wasn’t.