Prince Harry explains why he asked to see photos of Princess Diana's car crash

Prince Harry has explained why he asked to see photos of Princess Diana's car crash.

While speaking to ITV for an interview released in the U.K. on Sunday, the Duke of Sussex opened up about the aftermath of his mother's fatal car crash in Paris in 1997.

In the interview, Harry recalled asking to see photos of the crash upon receiving news of her death.

"I saw the photographs of the reflection of all the paparazzi in the window at the same time," he said. "I saw the back of her blonde hair, you know, slumped on the back of the seat."

Now 38 years old, Harry admitted he was "grateful" that his 12-year-old self didn't see more graphic photos from the incident at the time.

"I was looking for evidence that it was after that it actually happened, that it was true," he explained of his request. "But I was also looking for something to hurt because at that point I was still pretty numb to the whole thing. That was, again, my body, my sort of nervous system just kind of shut down and said like, 'Let's not.'"

In his new memoir, Spare, Harry recounted how his father King Charles III shared the news with him that his mother had died.

"What I do remember with stunning clarity is that I did not cry. Not a tear," he wrote. "My father did not hug me."