The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge paid a visit to a child bereavement centre that Prince William has been a patron of since 2009. While there, William comforted a nine-year-old girl whose dad had lost his battle with cancer, telling her “I lost my mummy when I was very young too.”
The official website of the British Royal Family reports that as Royal Patron of Child Bereavement UK, William supports the vital work undertaken by the charity, who provide help for children and families when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, or when a child is facing bereavement. The charity also provides training for professionals whose work brings them into contact with bereaved families.
William and Kate sat in on one of the charity’s family support group sessions where children, their parents, and carers can meet other families to explore themes such as memories, feelings, support and building resilience. These therapeutic sessions help to decrease children’s feelings of loneliness or being ‘different’ when a loved one has died.
During their visit, the Duke and Duchess took the opportunity to meet with families and children who have been supported by the charity. People detailed a touching conversation between William and 9-year-old Aoife, who lost her dad to pancreatic cancer:
“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 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 told William about the bright colours she had chosen for a ‘memory jar’ project because her dad had loved gardening. When asked about her chat with the Prince she said:
“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.”
Aoife’s mum, Marie, said the encounter was an emotional experience:
“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.”
VIDEO: The Duke and Duchess join a ‘memory jar’ activity in a support group session – which helps families dealing with bereavement:
The Duke and Duchess join a @cbukhelp ‘Memory Jar’ activity in a Support Group session – which helps families dealing with bereavement pic.twitter.com/xg9zWPxfkD
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) January 11, 2017
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