Princess Diana's Death Remains 'Imprinted on Your Mind' 25 Years Later, Says Queen's Biographer
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Kent Gavin/getty Princess Diana in August 1997
Princess Diana's tragic death united the world in grief.
Diana was just 36 when she was killed in a Paris car crash, which also took the lives of Dodi Al Fayed and driver Henri Paul, on Aug. 31, 1997.
"It was such a shock that it remains imprinted on your mind," Queen Elizabeth biographer Ingrid Seward, who knew Diana personally, tells PEOPLE in this week's cover story. "There are very few moments like those in history."
"I remember where I was in every tiny detail when I heard about Diana," Steward adds. "It affected everybody. Almost everyone in the world remembers where they were that day — it was an extraordinary, global phenomenon."
Mourners flocked to Diana's London home of Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, St. James's Palace and other locations to lay flowers, notes and photos expressing their sorrow.
"This is a story of someone who managed to effect change in people's lives. And continues to do so," says Ed Perkins, director of the new HBO documentary The Princess. "You had someone who people could project their own hopes and dreams and fears onto and find a strangely personal connection to. It was only once she was gone that lots of people realized what they'd lost."
Liba Taylor/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Flowers outside Kensington Palace after Princess Diana's death
Princess Diana's two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, were just 15 and 12 respectively at the time of her death.
In the documentary Diana, Our Mother, Prince Harry recalled, "It was very, very strange after her death, the sort of outpouring of love and emotion from so many people that had never even met her."
JEFF J. MITCHELL/AFP/Getty From left: Prince Philip, Prince William, Charles Spencer, Prince Harry and Prince Charles walk behind Princess Diana's casket at her 1997 funeral
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Both William and Harry have kept their mother's legacy alive throughout their lives. Prince William continues to support causes close to his mother's heart and mirrors his mom's hands-on approach to parenting Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4. His recent decision to move his family from London to the countryside of Windsor reflects Diana's wishes for him to have as normal an upbringing as possible.
"William is the living example of his mother," says Diana's former bodyguard Ken Wharfe.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has called himself "my mother's son," saying that he tries to honor Diana in everything he does.
"Harry has made it perfectly clear that every decision he has made he refers upstairs to his mother," says Andrew Morton, Princess Diana's biographer. "His decision to go to America — he felt she was watching over him and giving him the thumbs-up."
PEOPLE presents The Story of Diana: Archival footage and conversations with those who knew the Princess of Wales best reveal how her story remains relevant today. Now on PeopleTV.
