Like Princess Diana, Carolyn Bessette was no stranger to being the focus of a paparazzi lens. After the British royal died in Paris, where she was pursued by photographers, Carolyn reportedly encouraged her husband, John F. Kennedy Jr., to reach out to the late Princess’ two young sons: Prince William and Prince Harry.
In the book Once Upon a Time: The Captivating Life of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, author Elizabeth Beller wrote: “Carolyn tried to get John to call Princes William and Harry to give his condolences when it came out that Diana had hoped for her sons to emulate John’s modesty in the face of media obsession.”
Why JFK Jr. didn’t reach out
According to Beller, JFK was hesitant to “as he didn’t know them and thought that their situations greatly differed”.
“He had met [Princess Diana] once or twice,” Beller penned. “And the fact that she had died while being chased down by paparazzi, he was aware of the fact that their [he and Carolyn’s] lives were becoming overwrought with attention and he was upset.”
The author described Carolyn’s suggestion to call Diana’s boys as lovely, noting that JFK Jr. “was, by all accounts, a lovely, gracious person, but maybe that moment was too difficult for him to be able to reach out and say something to someone who’s just lost their parent in a very public and dramatic way”.
© WireImageExperienced loss in their childhoods
Similar to William and Harry, JFK Jr. himself lost a parent at a young age. His father President John F. Kennedy was killed three days before JFK Jr.’s third birthday. After his assassination in 1963, Queen Elizabeth expressed her “heartfelt” sympathy to the president’s widow, Jackie Kennedy. Per the book Dear Mrs. Kennedy: The World Shares Its Grief, Letters November 1963, the Queen wrote to Jackie: “I am so deeply distressed to learn of the tragic death of President Kennedy. My husband joins me in sending our heartfelt and sincere sympathy to you and to your family.”
William and Harry’s paternal grandfather, Prince Philip, attended the president’s state funeral in Washington, D.C. Leading up to the funeral, the late Duke of Edinburgh is said to have shared a sweet moment with JFK Jr. at the White House.
© Bettmann Archive“The weekend of the Kennedy assassination, he flew to Washington for the funeral. At the White House on Sunday, Nov. 24, 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy was looking for John Jr. and opened the door to his playroom,” author Paul Brandus posted on X after Prince Philip’s death in 2021.
“There she found the Prince sprawled on the floor, playing and laughing with the murdered president’s son,” Paul added. “Days from his 3d birthday, John had said earlier that he “didn’t have anybody to play with” (also: “where’s Daddy?”) and her Majesty’s husband decided that he would entertain the boy. RIP.”
JFK Jr. was 38 when he died in a plane crash that also claimed the lives of his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette.
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