Prince William speaks movingly about Princess Diana’s death as he comforts girl, 9, whose dad died from cancer during royal visit to bereavement centre
The Duke of Cambridge also helped little Aoife and other children at the centre in east London make a memory jars
PRINCE William comforted a little girl whose dad died from cancer in a poignant conversation about losing his mother Princess Diana while meeting with bereaved children today.
The Duke of Cambridge, who was at the Child Bereavement UK Centre in east London with Kate, told nine-year-old Aoife: "I lost my mummy when I was very young too".
The couple helped the children make memory jars filled with layers of different coloured salts, each representing a memory of the loved one they've lost.
Kate, 35, had joined her husband at the centre in her first official royal engagement of the year as the Stratford branch of the charity marked its first anniversary.
She wore a £1,650 belted cobalt blue coat from British label Eponine, which offers a made-to-order service for private clients, and is the second time she's opted for the brand.
The Royals also took part in a Family Support Group session, where the children can meet with other families and talk about their feelings and memories.
They also met with staff at the unit before being introduced to the families that use its services.
William has been a Royal Patron of the charity, founded by Jenni Thomas OBE, since 2009.
Princess Diana's close friend Julia Samuel, who is also Prince George's godmother, was a founder patron.
The visit was Kate's second engagement of the day after she met with mothers at a children's centre in North London and admitted "parenting is tough".
Kate Middleton was treated to a lingering wave from 15-month-old Riley as she left the Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families in Holloway this morning.
The 35-year-old heard stories of women who have battled problems like depression or difficult upbringings and praised them for turning their lives around.
For the past five years the centre's early years parenting unit has been supporting families who are at risk of their children being taken into care.
The Duchess met mothers who had completed its intensive treatment programme and paid tribute to the women, telling them "parenting is tough" but despite the "experiences you've all witnessed" and initially not receiving support "I find it extraordinary how you've managed actually, so really well done".
The unit will typically see a parent who has lived through an abusive childhood, whether suffering neglect or physical attacks, or is suffering from mental health problems like depression and whose child, aged under five, is at risk of being taken into care.
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In a lighter moment one little boy was left transfixed by the Duchess who wore an outfit by Eponine, when she was introduced to a group of mothers still being helped by the unit.
Kate, who is patron of Anna Freud Centre, chatted to a 19-year-old mother, known only by her first name Amber, and her 18-month-old son Le'Jaun.
The teenager, who has been receiving help for anxiety problems, chatted happily to the Duchess with her little boy on her lap and she made Kate laugh when she asked her child, who was staring at the royal guest, "What's this strange woman?".
The young mother said later: "I think people need to know exactly how mental health affects people and that there are places exactly like this unit, that do really intense treatment and not just somewhere you can attend once a week.
"I've only been here four months but already I'm noticing differences in myself, especially on the anxiety side. Now I'm able to recognise when I'm going into an anxiety attack when before I was oblivious to it."
- A previous version of this story stated that Child Bereavement UK was founded by Julia Samuel. In fact, the charity was founded by Jenni Thomas OBE and Mrs Samuel was a founder patron. We have updated the story accordingly and apologise for the error.
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