This morning, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited a Child Bereavement UKcenter in London as the site celebrates its one year anniversary. The charity, which supports families coping with a child's death and helps children facing bereavement, was launched by Princess Diana and is now one of Prince William's key causes.

xView full post on X

During their visit, the Duke and Duchess joined in on a "memory jar" group session, where children filled jars with colored sands that reminded them of their loved ones who have passed.

The Prince sat with a 9-year-old girl named Aoife, whose father passed away six years ago from pancreatic cancer. He talked to her about dealing with the loss, and opened up about his experience losing his mother, Princess Diana, when he was only 15 years old in 1997.

"Do you know what happened to me? You know I lost my mummy when I was very young too," he told her, according to People. "I was [15] and my brother was 12. So we lost our mummy when we were young as well. Do you speak about your daddy? It's very important to talk about it, very, very important."

Aoife appreciated his advice. Later on she said of Prince William, "It was really nice that he talked to me. It was like there are other people who know what it is like to lose someone."

Apparently, she wasn't the only one the Duke opened up to during his visit. A mother at the center, named Lorna Ireland, said that he spoke to her 12-year-old son, Shinobi Irons, about losing his mother too. "He told my son that when his mum died he was 15, at the time and he was very angry and found it very difficult to talk about it," she said to reporters.

Prince William has spoken out about his mother's passing with Child Bereavement UK before. During the charity's 21st anniversary banquet in 2015, he spoke about coping with the loss as a teen: "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."

Table, Furniture, Room, Couch, Picture frame, Sharing, Living room, Cuisine, Interior design, Plate, pinterest
Getty Images