The 20th anniversary of the late Princess Diana’s death is approaching this year, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge continue to find ways to honor her memory. Prince Williams rarely speaks publicly about the loss of his mother, until a recent visit to the Child Bereavement U.K. Centre.
While at a charity event in Stratford, London, Prince William met with a young grieving girl, Aoife. Aoife, 9, was grieving the loss of her father to pancreatic cancer. Prince William sat down with Aoife to console her. He said, “Do you know what happened to me?” He continued, “You know I lost my mummy when I was very young too. I was [15] and my brother was 12. So we lost our mummy when we were young as well.” William asked Aoife, “Do you speak about your daddy? It’s very important to talk about it. Very, very important.”
ABC News reported that after the charity event, Aoife’s mother told journalists that the interaction between Prince William and her daughter “almost brought her to tears.”
Aoife’s mother, Marie continued, “He told us how he felt angry when she died. He very specifically used that word anger, he felt angry about it.” ABC News noted that another mother named Lorna recalled, “He also told us how important it was to talk about how we feel when we lose someone as he found it very difficult to talk about it.”
Lorna continued, “I am telling my children that if they take anything away from this day, it is what he said about how important it is to talk. Kids do not forget that. Sometimes it hurts but we can remember the happy things too. It is so important to talk.”
William and Kate encouraged the children at the charity to make memory jars to process their grief. The royal couple and Prince Harry have made mental health awareness a top priority over the past year.