WIREIMAGE Prince Charles was scared at his ex-wife's funeral

FREE now and never miss the top Royal stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top Royal stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

The future king had become “public enemy number one” in the aftermath of Diana’s fatal car crash in Paris and public feeling swelled against Charles and the Queen in the days after the tragedy, the book claims. Many blamed Charles for the breakdown of his marriage with Diana and assumed he was having an affair with his now wife the Duchess of Cornwall. Pictures from the funeral on September 6 1997 showed a serious Charles walking behind Diana’s coffin with Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, then 12.

Prince Charles was extremely nervous because he was public enemy number one Ingrid Seward

The men walked from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey as thousands of mourners lined the streets. Speaking at Henley Literary Festival, royal biographer Ingrid Seward said: “Prince Charles was extremely nervous because he was public enemy number one. “He was very fatalistic. He thought, if someone takes a gun out and shoots him, that's it.

“The streets of London were very quiet. You could hear a pin drop. You could hear everything the crowd was saying. They were saying, ‘Look at him, look at him’. They were being quite nasty. “The whole way round he could hear this abuse and he didn't think he would make it the whole way round.” Charles was not the only royal who was nervous in the days surrounding the funeral.

BBC Prince Charles had become

HULTON ARCHIVE Prince Charles walked behind Princess Diana's coffin as crowds lined the streets

Remembering Princess Diana 1961-1997 Sat, June 30, 2018 Remembering Princess Diana on what would have been her 57th birthday. Play slideshow Getty 1 of 121 Remembering Princess Diana on what would have been her 55th birthday

The Queen was “anxious” when she greeted mourners outside Buckingham Palace on the eve of Diana’s funeral her former press secretary revealed. Her Majesty was criticised in the days after the tragedy for staying in Balmoral with her family rather than London, which had become a focal point for public grief. Dickie Arbiter, the Queen’s former press secretary, told the festival: “There had been a lot of criticism against the Queen by the media and the fact she remained at Balmoral.

WIREIMAGE/ GETTY Ingrid Seward and Dickie Arbiter made the claims at Henley Literary Festival

BBC Buckingham Palace became the focal point for the nation's grief