'Not a Day That We Don't Think About Her'

June 15, 2007 — -- Princes William and Harry rarely give interviews, but they did recently because they want to get the word out about a concert to celebrate the life of their mother.

The princes are holding the Concert for Diana in London July 1, which would have been her 46th birthday.

Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris when she was 37 years old.

While the world lost an icon, two young boys lost a mother. The princes recently talked to the BBC about the concert and Diana.

"For us, we were so lucky to have her as our mother and there's not a day goes past that we don't think about her and miss her influence because she was a massive example to both of us," William told the BBC. "It's one of those things that's very sad, but you learn to deal with that and there are plenty of people out there who have got same as or worse problems that we have."

Harry, in particular, has continued her legacy by setting up charities in Africa. He also appears to have inherited her ease and warmth.

"She had her public side, and the private side was very small in comparison to the public side, obviously," Harry said in the BBC interview. "But the memories that we've got of her, I think we're very lucky to have those memories because they're so private and between us. That's the nicest thing about it. You know, you see her get slated for such and such, but the personal memories we have of her, very private, and that's where hopefully it will always be."

Defending Her Reputation

In public, the boys say it's their mission to defend their mother's reputation and to stick up for her. Last week, they publicly slammed a British TV station that broadcast photos of her final moments in that fatal car wreck.

"After 10 years there's been a sort of rumbling of people bringing up the bad and every time people seem to forget, or have forgotten, about all the amazing things that she did and what an amazing person she was," William said.

The concert will be a celebration of the charity work she did for others.

"We sort of felt this was the best way … of bringing that back to life, and letting people remember all the good things about her because she's not here to defend herself when she gets criticized. So we want to do that ourselves, and this is the best way for us in getting that across to people," William said.

Besides helping others, Diana loved having fun, meeting people and dancing, her sons say.

"To have a concert to celebrate her life with music and people smiling and having fun, which hopefully is what they're going to be doing — waving their arms in the air, like they just don't care," Harry said with a laugh.

Playing at the concert will be some of Diana's old favorites, like Elton John and Duran Duran. Newer acts the princes think their mother would have liked, such as Pharrell Williams and Joss Stone, will also be there.

How do they know so much about their mother's musical tastes? The princes say that when they were little, they often caught their mother dancing around her bedroom, lost in music. Apparently she was always very embarrassed when she was busted.

"She put everybody first and herself very much last and she was the most caring person," Harry said. "Very caring, so sweet and I think very much missed not only by us but by a lot of people. And I think that's all that needs to be said, really."