Prince William hosted a private dinner on May 13 to honor Child Bereavement U.K.
The charity was founded by his late mother Princess Diana’s close friend Julia Samuel, and he has been its patron since 2009
The Prince of Wales has been actively involved in supporting the charity and has made many appearances at its facilities over the years
Prince William quietly honored the anniversary of a meaningful charity he supports, which has a special link to his late mother Princess Diana.
The Prince of Wales hosted members and supporters of Child Bereavement U.K. at Windsor Castle for a private dinner on Tuesday, May 13 to mark 30 years of the charity. The organization holds a special place in William’s heart as he succeeded his mother as its patron in 2009.
Child Bereavement U.K. was founded by Diana’s friend, Julia Samuel, who is so close to the family that William and Kate Middleton later chose her as a godparent for their oldest son Prince George, 11
While the event was private, William’s attendance was confirmed in the Court Circular, the official account of the British royal family’s public engagements. “The Prince of Wales, Patron, this evening gave a Dinner at Windsor Castle for Child Bereavement UK’s Thirtieth Anniversary,” the schedule read.
The charity is one of William’s longest-standing patronages, and he regularly visits its facilities across Britain. While out, he often talks with those he meets about coping with grief.
When William and his wife Princess Kate, 43, visited the charity’s London-based center in 2017, Samuel told PEOPLE, “Bereavement — and particularly child death, which is so unbearable to think about — is something William is shining a light on. He is helping us raise awareness in a way that no one else can do.”
Talking with some young people helped by the charity in Widnes, in northwest England, in February 2025 William reflected on his own childhood grief.
“Sometimes the hardest thing about grief is finding the words for how you actually feel,” he said. “It’s crucial for those first few years, particularly, [that] you have support like this… It’s got you in your practice, how to help yourself.”
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Prince William talks to young people who’ve been supported by Child Bereavement U.K., in Widnes, England in February 2025
“The mind gets focused on one thing, doesn’t it? It’s very difficult to do school and normal life,” he continued.
And in 2017, on a visit with wife Kate, William comforted a girl grieving for her father, telling her, “I lost my mummy when I was very young too.”
He continued, saying, “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.”
“It was really nice that he talked to me,” the young girl told reporters. “It was like there are other people who know what it is like to lose someone.”
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Julia Samuel with her husband at the Christening of Prince George, in London on October 23, 2013
Before hosting the dinner, William conducted a ceremony investing people with honors that had been granted by his father King Charles.
Chatting to honoree, middle-distance runner Keely Hodgkinson, he revealed that his daughter Princess Charlotte is a budding athlete herself. “The Prince told me his daughter is doing the 400 meters at the minute and the hurdles and that she did watch me in Paris,” the athlete said, according to The Telegraph.
“He told me that he remembers me winning and that he wished he could be there to see it himself,” she added.
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