Prince William misses Diana on birthday

London: The Duke of Cambridge turned 38 on Sunday, with his birthday this year coinciding with Father’s Day.

But the Duke wasn’t able to see his father in person, instead spending a quiet day with the Duchess of Cambridge and their three children at Anmer Hall in Norfolk.

The day tinged with sadness’ for William. While Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis sought to make the double celebration extra special,

‘William misses his mother. It must be emotional for him that she’s not here to share this… She’s still a significant part of his life so inevitably, on his birthday, his thoughts will be with her,’ a media report said.

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Almost 23 years on from Diana’s death, the Duke spoke recently about the impact that the loss of his mother continues to have on him.

In the BBC documentary, Football, Prince William And Our Mental Health, he stated: ‘I mean having children is the biggest life-changing moment, it really is… I think when you’ve been through something traumatic in life… my mother dying when I was younger, your emotions come back, in leaps and bounds. Because it’s a different phase of life and there is no one there to kind of help you. I definitely found it very, at times, overwhelming.’

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have just returned to London. The couple relocated from Scotland to take up residence in Clarence House as they returned to (socially-distanced) duties, having hosted French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.

In a recent interview for the Sky programme After The Pandemic: Our New World, Prince Charles stated that he misses his grandchildren and ‘really wants’ to hug them. Nicholl added: ‘I would think it’s very upsetting for William knowing that it pains his father not to see them… I know that William has told his friends that he’s loved spending so much time with the children in lockdown, but that’s been coupled with the sadness that he’s not seeing his father.

Indeed while Diana was often regarded as the more demonstrative parent in expressing her affection for her sons, ‘tactile’ Charles has always been ‘a really progressive, hands-on father, who’d schedule his diary, where possible, around William and Harry’s bath and bedtime’.

And William, too, is a very loving parent, with Nicholl adding that ‘Since becoming a father, William’s perspective on life has changed… He’s admitted that he’s easily reduced to tears now and is more emotional than he ever used to be. Becoming a dad changed William and it changed him for the better’. She cites examples like the Cambridges’ championing of mental health causes and the 20th anniversary of Diana’s death, ‘when he opened up in a way he never had before.’