Prince William spoke about the death of his mother Princess Diana when he visited a bereavement centre run by Child Bereavement UK on Wednesday (11.01.17)
The 34-year-old royal is a patron of the charity – which aims to help families struggling with the loss of a child, or to help children facing their own bereavements – and spoke candidly about his mother’s passing when he paid a visit to their centre in Stratford, East London.
Princess Diana was fatally injured in a car crash in 1997, and the future King was filmed comforting a nine-year-old girl – who had recently lost her father – by explaining that he "lost [his] mummy when [he] was very young too."
Speaking to the girl, who was named as Aoife, Prince William said: "Do you know what happened to me?
"You know I lost my mummy when I was very young too. I was 15 and my brother (Prince Harry) was 12. So we lost our mummy when we were young as well."
And the Duke of Cambridge – who has three-year-old Prince George and 18-month-old Princess Charlotte with his wife the Duchess of Cambridge – also highlighted it was "very important" for the young girl to talk to her mother about her feelings.
He added: "Do you speak about your daddy? It’s very important to talk about it, very, very important."
According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Aoife’s mother Marie found the experience "very emotional", and said she was now encouraging her children to discuss their problems.
She said: "I couldn’t believe it when he started to talk about his mother. It was very emotional and I was willing myself not to start to cry. I almost did.
"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."
Prince William speaks about the death of Princess Diana
