The Prince of Wales visits Child Bereavement U.K. Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty Images
Prince William spoke candidly about his experience with loss during a visit to a bereavement charity with close links to Princess Diana.
“The mind gets focused on one thing, doesn’t it?” William, 42, said during a visit to a Child Bereavement UK center in Widnes, England, on Wednesday, February 5, according to The Times of London and the Daily Mail.
“It’s very difficult to do school and normal life,” he added.
“It’s crucial for those first few years, particularly [that] you have support like this,” the prince said of the center.
Diana died in 1997 when William was 15 and his brother Prince Harry was 12. Both princes have been open about how they dealt with the loss of their mother and have tried to use their experiences to help others.
“What my mother recognized back then — and what I understand now — is that grief is the most painful experience that any child or parent can endure,” William added.
Diana was a supporter of the organization until her death in 1997; William became patron in 2009.
The late Princess of Wales was close friends with the charity’s founding patron, Julia Samuel.
Samuel has remained close to the royal family and was named a godparent to William’s eldest child, Prince George, after his birth in 2013.
Child Bereavement UK supports young people up to the age of 25 who have experienced loss or who are about to experience it.
During his visit, William met with families, children, volunteers, and staff, according to a press release issued to Us Weekly. He also listened to young people open up about their experiences with grief.
One participant, Rebecca, 17, told the Daily Mail that William “really understood” how she felt because “’he’s been in the same situation, around our age as well.”
“I think he understands how grief works,” Ella, 17, told the outlet. “He seemed comfortable to be able to speak to us about stuff.”
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