Prince William’s Greatest Loss Became His Driving Force — and Mom Diana Would’ve Been Proud
For Prince William, the loss of his mother was anything but a private grief. It has played a huge role in the man he became, and, by his own admission, continues to influence the causes he champions today. At just 15 years old, William faced what he has since called "the most painful experience that any child can endure," the sudden death of Princess Diana in 1997. That tragedy, he admits, left a scar that never fully heals. His brother Prince Harry has also described the impact as "a gaping hole that could never be filled."
For William, this grief also lit a path. He has spoken of wanting to "continue his mother’s commitment to a charity which is very dear to him.” Over the years, his work has increasingly mirrored Diana’s, particularly in areas of bereavement support and homelessness. For William, the work is rooted in the memory of his late mother, who never shied away from difficult issues and was known to work to uplift the downtrodden. A source close to him has said that Diana 'would have loved' the way her son has taken forward her causes with such commitment, the Daily Mail reported.
In 2009, William became patron of Child Bereavement UK, a charity Diana helped launch. On taking the role, he said, “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," as per Royal Insider. Never being able to say the word ‘Mummy’ again in your life sounds like a small thing.” He added, "However, for many, including me, it is now really just a word, hollow and evoking only memories."
Royal author Katie Nicholl wrote in her book, The Making of a Royal Romance, that William spent his 27th birthday speaking with former gang members to understand street culture. One Christmas, he slept rough on a freezing night in London to experience homelessness firsthand. “I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable people on our streets,” he said at the time.
His dedication to tackling homelessness stems directly from Diana, who first took him to a shelter when he was just 11. In 2022, writing for The Big Issue, William recalled, “I was 11 when I first visited a homeless shelter with my mother, who in her own inimitable style was determined to shine a light on an overlooked, misunderstood problem.”
Since then, he has gone further, launching the Homewards initiative, a campaign to end homelessness in six regions in the UK within five years. As William continues to carry on his mother's legacy, he also deliberately passes Diana’s lessons on to his own children. On the school run, he points out rough sleepers to Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, encouraging them to think about inequality. “Some of us are very fortunate,” he explained, “while some of us need a little bit of a helping hand.”