Prince William had an emotional meeting with fans of his late mother on Monday (01.07.19).
The 37-year-old royal shocked a group of six people who had gathered outside Kensington Palace to mark what would have been Princess Diana’s 58th birthday by stepping out to shake their hands and speak with them.
One of the group, John Loughrey, told MailOnline: "William told me he knew we’d been coming here for years and thanked us for what we were doing for his mother.
"He shook my hand three times, he has a really firm shake, and I felt a beautiful feeling go through my body."
Another well-wisher, Maria Scott, added: "We are here to honour Diana’s legacy. We are two generations down now and there are children growing up who don’t even know who she is. It’s important that we remind them and remember.
"None of us could believe it when William suddenly walked down the drive to come and thank us. He really is his mother’s son."
William met with the group at around 6.45pm but left less than 10 minutes later after crowds started to gather, explaining the meeting was a private visit.
But before he left, he told the fans a proposed statue for his mother will be revealed "soon, very soon".
He added: "It’s important to get it right."
William previously admitted the death of his mother in a 1997 car crash left him with a "pain like no other pain"
He said: "I’ve thought about this a lot, and I’m trying to understand why I feel like I do, but I think when you are bereaved at a very young age, any time really, but particularly at a young age, I can resonate closely to that, you feel pain like no other pain.
"And you know that in your life it’s going to be very difficult to come across something that’s going to be even worse pain than that.
"But it also brings you so close to all those other people out there who have been bereaved."
Prince William met with Princess Diana fans
