William Opens Up on Loss of 'Mummy'

He becomes patron of child bereavement charity

By Sarah Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 13, 2009 8:55 AM CDT

(Newser) – Prince William makes his first public acknowledgment about the grief he felt after losing his mother in a Daily Mirror essay. "Never being able to say the word 'Mummy' again in your life sounds like a small thing," he writes. "However, for many, including me, it's now really just a word—hollow and evoking only memories." William recently became patron of the Child Bereavement Charity, a group Princess Diana helped launch.

"Life is altered as you know it, and not a day goes past without you thinking about the one you have lost.," William writes. The prince, 26, also gave a speech at a reception for the charity, the Guardian notes. He said he supports the group's campaign centered around Mother's Day—a difficult time for families who have lost mothers or children. "I too have felt, and still feel, the emptiness on such a day as Mother's Day," William said.

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Prince William is the new patron of Britain's Child Bereavement Charity. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, Pool)

Prince William, left, and Prince Harry attend the unveiling of a memorial to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on the Mall in London on Feb. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, pool)

Prince Charles and Princess Diana march down the aisle of St. Paul's Cathedral at the end of their wedding ceremony in London on July 29, 1981. (AP Photo/FILE)

A photograph in memory of Princess Diana is seen within the grounds of Kensington Palace in London on Aug. 30, 2007, 10 years after her death. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Princess Diana of Wales smiles as she sits with her sons, Princes Harry, front, and William in 1987. (AP Photo/John Redman)

The Princess of Wales takes her sons William and Harry out on the boat 'Maid of the Mist' at Niagara Falls in 1991. (Getty Images)

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Initially, there is a sense of profound shock and disbelief that this could ever happen to you. Real grief often does not hit home until much later. - Prince William

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William Opens Up on Loss of 'Mummy'