Prince William, 39, thought back on the loss of his mother Princess Diana during his appearance with his wife Kate Middleton at the opening of the memorial for the Manchester Arena bombing May 10. The Duke of Cambridge, who lost his mom in a tragic car accident in 1997, gave an emotional speech at the touching event, which unveiled the beautiful “Glade of Light” garden area that included halo-shaped white marble that contained names and mementos of the 22 victims of the 2017 attack. During the speech, he appeared to choke up a bit as he talked about loss and grief to the attendees, which included the families of the victims.
“Catherine and I know that the atrocity’s impact will last a lifetime and beyond, and that the healing process is still on-going. We want to assure all of you who are struggling that you are very much in our thoughts,” he said before touching on his own grief.
“As someone who lives with his own grief, I also know that what often matters most to the bereaved is that those we have lost are not forgotten,” he explained. “There is comfort in remembering. In acknowledging that, while taken horribly soon, they lived.”
He went on to talk about the impact the victims had and will still have in the world today. “They changed our lives. They were loved, and they are loved,” he said. “It is why memorials such as the Glade of Light are so important. Why Catherine and I so wanted to be amongst you today.”
Prince William and Kate’s appearance at the Manchester memorial comes almost a year after he attended the unveiling of a bronze statue of his mother in the Sunken Garden with his brother Prince Harry. The special occasion took place on July 1, 2021, what would have been Princess Diana’s 60th birthday. The brothers both commissioned the statue in 2017 in an effort to “recognize [Diana’s] positive impact in the United Kingdom and around the world.”
“Our mother touched so many lives,” they said in a joint statement at the time. “We hope the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on her life and her legacy.”