"There’s me as a princess." David Campbell believes his 4yo son is Princess Diana reincarnated.

Kids say the darndest things.

But what happens when your child tells you he is Princess Diana reincarnated?

For David Campbell, that’s exactly what his son has been saying – well, implying – since he was two years old.

WATCH: Exactly why we love Princess Diana. Post continues after video.

It started with the toddler, Billy, pointing to photos of Princess Diana and exclaiming, “Look! It’s me when I was a princess.” Then Billy even spoke about his two sons and a brother named John.

Princess Diana’s brother John died before she was born.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Whoever invented Babychinos, I thank you. #billyandbetty

A post shared by David Campbell (@davidcampbell73) on Apr 24, 2019 at 10:28pm PDT

Writing for Stellar, the 45-year-old television presenter and son of Jimmy Barnes reflected on the spooky incidents.

“He started to refer to his two ‘boys’. When asked what boys, our then three-year-old would say his ‘sons’. OK… strange, but sure, mate,” he wrote.

Campbell also described an instance in which his son accurately described the details of the Queen’s favourite residence Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

“To a Scottish friend of ours, he claimed when he was Princess Diana he used to go to a castle in that kilted wonderland. He described the castle as having ‘unicorns on it’ and was called Balmoral,” he wrote.

“Which is the Queen’s Scottish residence. The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland and there are unicorns on the walls and how does he know this??? He is four years old!” he added.

He explained that while his wife is English, their family isn't interested in the monarchy, so concluded parental interference couldn't be responsible. Details aside, it was Billy's most recent comment that left the couple gobsmacked.

"Lisa showed him another photo of Diana, and Billy said: 'There’s me as a princess. Then one day the sirens came and I wasn’t a princess anymore.' People shiver when we tell them this one," he wrote.

But Billy isn't the only toddler who can recall eerie details from a past life.

One morning in the year 2000, two-year-old James Leininger woke up from a vivid nightmare and started telling his parents about a man named Lt. James McCready Huston.

As far as they both knew, James had never met or heard of this man before. No one had. He was a WWII fighter pilot who died on March 3, 1945.

“Just after his second birthday, [James] started having night terrors that he was in a plane that got shot down and crashed into the water, and that he couldn’t get out,” his mother Andrea said on Fox morning television in 2013.

“And his actions would mimic those of somebody who was trying to get out of something, as if he was trapped in the box and trying to kick his way out.”

At three, James began drawing pictures of fighter jets and battles, signing them off as ‘James 3’, even though he hadn’t yet learnt to write his name. He could also list off the names of his ‘fellow pilots’ and the name of the ship his jet took off from.

It was only after some research that James’ parents realised their toddler was recalling details of WWII battles as if they were his own memories. As if he… was there.

Reincarnation, or having a past life, is for many just a myth. For some, it's part of their religion and for others, like James, Billy and their families, it's a reality.

Researchers have studied young children’s reports of past-life memories for the last 45 years, with over 2,500 cases investigated worldwide, the Children's Report of Past-Life Memories: A Review reports.

Although reports are more common in countries with cultural beliefs around reincarnation, like India, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Lebanon, Thailand and Myanmar, they have also surfaced in Europe and America.

While it's not uncommon for children to share stories that don't add up or have been concocted in their overactive imaginations, there are cases where it seems like reincarnation is the only explanation that makes any sort of sense.

Stories like these:

"When he was one and a half, [Sam Taylor] looked up as his father was changing his diaper and said, 'When I was your age, I used to change your diapers'. He began talking more about having been his grandfather. He eventually told details of his grandfather’s life that his parents felt certain he could not have learned through normal means, such as the fact that his grandfather’s sister had been murdered and that his grandmother had used a food processor to make milkshakes for his grandfather every day at the end of his life." - The University of Virginia.

"When my daughter was about three or four, she approached me while I was reading a card sent by a family member. The picture on the front was of a little boat on a lake. She pointed to it and said, 'I've been on a boat like that'. 'Really?' I asked, knowing she had never been out on any boat. She said, in a somber tone, 'Yeah. I died there'." - Buzzfeed.

"My 4-year-old nephew talks about being on the Titanic all the time. He said he was with his wife and that it was really cold." - Buzzfeed.

Spooky stuff.

Want more Mamamia stories? Sign up to our newsletters and get our best stories straight into your inbox.

Been listening to Ask Me Anything? Take our short survey to win one of four $50 vouchers to our new Lady Startup store.