Speaking at Child Bereavement UK’s 21st anniversary event, Prince William made a moving speech about the loss of his mother Princess Diana, who died at the age of 36 when William was just 15.
“Twenty-one years ago last month, my mother attended the launch of the Child Bereavement Charity,” said the Duke of Cambridge. “Fifteen years later, I was honored to be invited to become patron of Child Bereavement UK to continue my mother’s commitment to a charity which is very dear to me.”
William didn’t avoid referencing the shock and grief he experienced after the Princess of Wales died in a car crash in 1997, telling the crowd, “What my mother recognized back then, and what I understand now, is that grief is the most painful experience that any child or parent can endure.”
Diana would have been “immensely proud” of the charity’s work since then, said William, and that “[a]s a father to two young children myself, I now appreciate it all the more.”
2014 was when the duke first opened up about losing his mother at such a young age, explaining, “Never being able to say the word ‘Mummy’ again in your life sounds like a small thing.
“However, for many, including me, it’s now really just a word—hollow and evoking only memories.”
These days, of course, William is a proud father himself. The love he has for his children with the Duchess of Cambridge shone through last week when he spoke about their emerging personalities.
Professor Christopher Dobson, Master of St John’s College—where the duke took a 10-week course in agriculture—said that when the royal visited the college to open a new archive center, he mentioned the “different temperaments” displayed by his son and daughter.
“He said George is very lively and Charlotte is very lady-like. He said they were both delightful of course.”
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