LONDON – Prince William rarely speaks about the death of his mother Princess Diana, but he thought it might help a 9-year-old girl he met at a London charity Wednesday.
The child lost her father to pancreatic cancer, and was still grieving about his death.
William sat with the little girl, Aoife, and told her about how he lost a parent.
“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.”
The Duke and Duchess find out how the @cbukhelp 'Memory Jar' exercise can help families dealing with bereavement pic.twitter.com/H5RpEmmCcT
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) January 11, 2017
“Do you speak about your daddy? It’s very important to talk about it. Very, very important.”
He also told children at the Centre that he felt very angry when his mother died, and stressed again how important it is for them to talk about it. “Sometimes it hurts but we can remember the happy things too. It is so important to talk.”
Prince William is the royal patron of the Child Bereavement U.K. Centre, a charity that helps families deal with loss. It was founded by one of Princess Diana’s closest friends .
This coming summer will mark 20 years since Princess Diana died in a car accident in Paris.