Coffin bearer who laid Princess Diana recalls the pain of the moment

1 1 minute read

He was a soldier in the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment – of which Diana was commander-in-chief – when she died. Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, asked the regiment to provide pallbearers for the private funeral in Althorp after the emotional service in Westminster Abbey.

They had just returned to their barracks in Tidworth, Hants, after a tour of duty in Omagh, Northern Ireland.

Enright said: “We were just about to head home for the weekend when we were told all leave had been cancelled. We knew it had something to do with Diana. Volunteers were being asked for, regardless of rank. The only criteria was that we had to be at least six feet tall, which I was.

“When we were told we would be the final pallbearer party, everyone wanted to be part of it. We ran to the parade ground and the regiment sergeant major conducted the selection process.”

Enright, who later ran an office renovation company, was one of two soldiers chosen to participate.

He added: “We were told that what we were doing was completely secret and that we were not to tell anyone except immediate family.”

Over the next two days the carrier group practiced under the command of Flight Sgt Gary Bennett of the Queen’s Color Squadron, RAF Regiment.

Using a coffin and sandbags, the team practiced their 100-foot walk across the wooden bridge to Diana’s island grave.

Enright said: “We knew it was a lead-lined coffin and would be heavy, but we had no idea of the exact weight. We kept thinking about it. We had to do it right. We couldn’t abandon the family or the princess.”

The day before the funeral the team went to a hotel near Althorp claiming to be rugby players.

“It was completely believable as we were all big, burly guys,” Nigel added.

On the day itself, they spruced up their uniforms and continued practicing.

“Our shoulders all got pretty bruised. But it had to run smoothly, like clockwork,” Enright recalls. “The coarse jute cloth was placed along the entire wooden bridge to ensure we didn’t slip.”