Prince William shares his story of 'grief' to help others
Prince William reveals how to ‘cope with grief’ during moving visit.
Prince William has spoken candidly about the challenges of grieving, highlighting the difficulty of expressing one’s emotions.
During a visit to a leading child bereavement organization in the UK, the Prince of Wales met with young people who had lost parents and grandparents, including a girl who was the same age as him when his mother, Princess Diana, passed away.
Reflecting on his own experience of losing his mother at the age of 15, Prince William praised the support services available, saying: “It’s crucial for those first few years, particularly (that) you have support like this.”
The future King emphasized the importance of having a support system, which includes monthly meetings and a personal support worker or volunteer, to help young people cope with their emotions.
He noted that such assistance enables them to “practise how to help yourself.”
William also acknowledged the struggle to express one’s feelings, saying: “Finding the words for how you actually feel” is often the most difficult aspect of grieving.
“The mind gets focused on one thing, doesn’t it? It’s very difficult to do school and normal life”, William said.
During his visit, William engaged with a group of children, aged 15-18, as they created memory jars with coloured salt to honor their deceased loved ones.
He also met with members of the fundraising team, including 16-year-old amateur boxer Clayton Wilson, as well as management and support staff.
To help break the ice, he cracked a lighthearted joke about being sore from a recent boxing workout at the Centrepoint charity, putting everyone at ease.
As William asked him about his training schedule, the teenager replied: “Are you looking to do a bit of boxing?”
William said: “I don’t mind throwing a few punches around in the boxing ring but probably not at your level.” He joked that he could only last “half an hour of pounding away”, after which his arms were too ‘tired’.
After meeting with the charity’s bereavement counsellors, some of whom shared their own personal experiences of grief to inform their work, Prince William emphasized the importance of empathy in the counselling process.
“It’s essential to feel a connection,” he said. “You need a bit of understanding. It can’t be too clinical.”
