Diana, the Princess of Wales's death on August 31, 1997 in a car crash in Paris sent shockwaves around the world. In the seven days between her death and her funeral, an estimated 60 million bunches of flowers were left outside the likes of Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace in her memory.
Diana died from her injuries at the Pitié-Salpêtrière University Hospital after doctors worked tirelessly to try and save her. After her death, The Prince of Wales and Diana's two sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes flew out to Paris to bring her body home. However, the decision to bring Prince William and Prince Harry's mother home on a royal flight was something that allegedly provoked a debate between Prince Charles and The Queen.
Within hours of Diana's shock death, Prince Charles was in Paris to ensure that his ex-wife's body was brought back to the UK at the earliest possible opportunity.
However, Charles' determination to use the royal flight for the task was reportedly met by a challenge from The Queen who did not feel it was appropriate.
Journalist Richard Kay was close friends with Diana and he previously explained Prince Charles' disagreement with Her Majesty on the documentary Diana: 7 Days That Shook the Windsors.
He said: "This was a surprising and brave move. He was an ex-husband, he had no right to be there other than as the father of her sons. Charles wanted to take the royal flight to Paris but the Queen wouldn't allow it. Charles fought harder for Diana than he had ever fought for her in her lifetime."
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Prince Charles refused to listen to his mother's reservations and used the royal plane to fly to Paris with Diana's two sisters to bring her body back to the UK.
After spending a short time in the hospital the group emerged with Diana's coffin which had been draped in the Royal Standard at the prince's request.
When they arrived at RAF Northolt, Diana was taken to a private mortuary before being moved to St James's Palace and then Kensington Palace.
The plane took off again 20 minutes later to take Prince Charles back to Aberdeen so he could return to his young sons who were still at Balmoral with their family.
Prince William and Prince Harry have opened up a number of times about the effect that their mother's death had on them. Harry in particular praised his father's response in the days following the tragedy.
In the documentary 'Diana, 7 days' to mark the 20th anniversary of her passing, Harry said of Prince Charles : "One of the hardest things for a parent to have to do is to tell your children that your other parent has died. How you deal with that? I don’t know. But you know, he was there for us.
"He was the one out of two left, and he tried to do his best and to make sure that we were protected and looked after. But you know, he was going through the same grieving process as well."
Despite Prince Charles' efforts after her death, Diana's biographer, Andrew Morton believes he will always be remembered for his difficult marriage to Diana.
He told PEOPLE magazine : "His tragedy is whatever he does, whatever he says, however he behaves, he will be remembered for one thing: the fact that his fairy-tale marriage ended.
"Just as Henry VIII is remembered for his six wives, Prince Charles is remembered for his first wife. It will always haunt him. His life has been defined by his marriage."
