Secret details about Princess Diana's funeral revealed in new documentary

An explosive documentary has revealed new details about the aftermath within the royal family following Princess Diana's shock death almost 20 years ago.

'Diana: 7 Days That Shook The Windsors', which aired on the UK's Channel 5, reveals how Diana's body was kept in a 'make-shift morgue' and that the Queen ordered for all televisions and radios to be hidden from her grandsons as the Windsor family scrambled to cope with the unprecedented event, Daily Mail Daily Mail

When the news first broke overnight of Diana's death on 31 August, 1997, the family decided to wait until the morning to tell William, 15, and Harry, 12, who were staying in Balmoral with their grandmother, the documentary reveals.

The Queen then reportedly hid all the televisions and radios in the house to avoid the boys finding out any of the horrific details about the tragic car crash which had claimed their mother's life.

When they did find out, Harry reportedly begged his father to go to Paris to help collect his mother's body but was made to stay back.

The programme also reveals how Diana's butler Paul Burrell and chauffeur Colin Tebbutt had to make a 'make-shift morgue' when they went to Paris to collect her body, using fans to keep the room cool and piling up blankets against the windows to deter photographers.

"I was worried about the room, which was very, very hot," Tebbutt says in the documentary.

"We looked up at the window above the Princess's bed and could see people on rooftops, trying to take photos."

"It didn't seem as if they knew which room to look for at that stage, and I asked for blankets to hang up at the window, so nobody could see in."

Tebbutt describes the moment he became overcome with emotion and had to "take 30 seconds" to himself, saying: "I noticed her hair was moving — which was the breeze from the fans of course. 

"But for just a fraction of a second I thought, 'Is she alive?' which was a silly thing to think."

Burrell, who was known as the princess' "rock", says he knew something was wrong that day when he called the princess' mobile and she didn't answer.

"Diana always had a mobile phone in her handbag, so I rang her phone and it rang and rang and rang, and I thought 'It's very strange because she always answers her phone'."

He also describes the moments he saw her body at the Paris hospital, saying: "I honestly thought, entering that room and looking at her, 'She is not really dead, it's just a joke, a very silly joke and you can wake up'.'

Diana's funeral at Westminster Abbey was attended by 2,000 people and watched by more than 2 billion worldwide.

Though, it reportedly took its toll on those scrambling to organise it, including representatives from the royal family, 10 Dowling St, the police and Diana's family.

Tony Blair's then-former head of government relations Anji Hunter says on the film it was Diana's family who caused "the most tension", adding that an emotional Prince Philip told the group the funeral should be "about the boys".

Days out from the funeral, there was reportedly still debate within the group over whether Harry and William should walk behind their mother's coffin at the procession, with William initially refusing to take part because he wanted to 'grieve privately'.

Diana's younger brother Earl Spencer reportedly wanted to walk behind the coffin alone but Prince Charles was adamant he should be there and it was then agreed Harry and William should be there too.

The Princess' private secretary Patrick Jepson admits that initially they were worried there would not be enough people to fill Westminster Abbey, saying: "There was no rule book to go to, no precedent, no tradition, nothing fitted the royal game plan."

"I remember saying if you get hold of a guest list for the Princess' Christmas drinks in 1995, invite everybody on that guest list and you won't have missed out anybody important."

For the funeral, the pallbearers had to carry a 50 stone lead-lined coffin and practised before-hand using two concrete kerb stones inside Westminster Abbey.

"We got told we were going to try and simulate the weight with a kerb stone," said e of her pall-bearers, Philip Bartlet.

"We were wearing metal studs and the Abbey's marble floor was like an ice skating rink."

Following the funeral, Diana’s body was taken to the Spencer family home at Althorp for a private burial.