Prince William's 'deepest pain' spurred him on to complete Princess Diana's work - which she 'would have loved'
Princess Diana tragically died when William was 15
Prince William is honouring his mother Princess Diana by continuing her charitable work.
The Prince of Wales recently opened up about the pain of grief and his admission has portrayed why he has been spurred on to follow in his mother’s footsteps…
Prince William follows in Princess Diana’s footsteps
Prince William has previously described grief as “the most painful experience that any child or parent can endure”.
When they were just 12 and 15, Prince Harry and Prince William sadly lost their mother, 28 years ago on August 31, after she died from injuries she sustained in a car accident in Paris.
Since then, through the years, the two brothers have fulfilled a variety of charitable work.
The brothers have also highlighted just how devastating losing their mother at such a young age was.
Harry described his loss as a “gaping hole that could never be filled”.
Spurred on by his grief, William became patron of Child Bereavement UK, a charity which his mother helped launch, on Mother’s Day in 2009.
‘William nor Harry wants to be figureheads’
Royal author Katie Nicholl mused in her book, The Making of a Royal Romance: “Like their mother, who famously said she didn’t want to ‘just be a name on a letterhead’, neither William nor Harry wants to be figureheads,” instead, they have done what they can to help those in need.
Nicholl continued: “Ironically it is in the company of strangers that William allows his guard to slip. When, as their new patron, he addressed The Child Bereavement Charity, he drew on his life in order to connect with ordinary people.”
Prince William said at the time: “Never being able to say the word ‘Mummy’ again in your life sounds like a small thing. However for many, including me, it is now really just a word – hollow and evoking only memories.”
Following in his mother’s footsteps, Wills has devoted himself to a lot of charity work.
Prince William references Princess Diana’s famed charity work
In 2009, William discussed the work of the Prince’s Foundation, where he mentioned Princess Diana’s famous meeting with Aids patients, where she embraced them, in an effort to spread awareness about the deeply misunderstood disease.
He said: “There is a time and a place for being an ornament, or shaking people’s hands and being at an engagement. But I think there’s an awful lot more from actually doing stuff. You could just turn up and open things – and don’t get me wrong, there’s always a good reason to do that – but it’s about bringing some other things into it as as well.”
Diana would have loved it.
Following William’s work sleeping rough for a night in December in London, Vivienne Parry, a longtime friend of Princess Diana penned: “Diana was always passionate about her work with homeless people and William is the same. It was amazing when he slept rough on the street and quite extraordinary that he was able to do that. Diana would have loved it.
“Diana often said to me that she felt like an outsider and she identified with people who were struggling. I see that in William and Harry too.”
Prince William was ‘visibly moved’ whilst meeting with bereaved young people
Earlier this year, Prince William appeared moved as he greeted young people supported by the charity Child Bereavement UK.
A source said of the visit that it would be “incredibly emotive and powerful”.
They went on to say, as per MailOnline: “The Prince is keen to shine a light on the important work the charity does day in, day out to support families at the most difficult time of their lives.”
Read more: Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis’ ‘uncertain’ futures as Prince George prepares to be king
So, what do you think? Let us know by commenting on our Royal Insider Facebook page. We want to know your thoughts!
