Where he left a piece of his heart. Prince William shared personal memories about Princess Diana’s death as he explained his deep connection to Scotland.
“I was in Balmoral when I was told that my mother had died,” the Duke of Cambridge, 38, said while speaking at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on Saturday, May 22. “Still in shock, I found sanctuary in the service at Crathie Kirk that very morning, and in the dark days of grief that followed, I found comfort and solace in the Scottish outdoors. As a result, the connection I feel to Scotland will forever run deep.”
Queen Elizabeth II is known to love Scotland as well. She and her family typically vacation for several weeks at the end of summer at Balmoral Castle, a 50,000-acre estate with 150 buildings in the Highlands. William and his brother, Prince Harry, were finishing their summer holiday there when Princess Diana died in a car accident in Paris at age 36.
However, William revealed that Scotland also brought him to one of the most important women in his life: Duchess Kate. The couple met at the University of St. Andrews, which is located in the southern part of the country.
“And yet alongside this painful memory, is one of great joy. Because it was here in Scotland – 20 years ago this year – that I first met Catherine,” he added. “Needless to say, the town where you meet your future wife holds a very special place in your heart.”
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have already made sure to teach their three children — Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 6, and Prince Louis, 3 — about their love for the country.
“George, Charlotte and Louis already know how dear Scotland is to both of us, and they are starting to build their own happy memories here too,” the future King of England revealed. “We have no doubt they will grow up sharing our love and connection to Scotland from the Highlands to the Central Belt, from the Islands to the Borders.”
Kate will join William on his weeklong tour of Scotland on Monday, May 24. The visit follows Prince Harry’s public jabs at the royal family.
William “is very shocked by the amount of things that his brother has said over the last few weeks,” royal expert Nick Bullen exclusively told Us Weekly.
After opening up alongside wife Meghan Markle in their March CBS tell-all, the Duke of Sussex, 36, appeared on Dax Shepard‘s “Armchair Expert” podcast earlier this month where he compared growing up as a royal to “living in a zoo.” The debut of his new Apple TV+ series, The Me You Can’t See, which premiered Friday, May 21, included even more allegations as he accused the royal family of “neglect.”
“My father used to say to me when I was younger, he used to say to William and I, ‘Well, it was like that for me, so it’s gonna be like that for you.’ That doesn’t make sense,” Harry said in the third episode of his new series. “Just because you suffered, it doesn’t mean that your kids have to suffer. In fact, quite the opposite. If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever experiences, negative experiences that you had, you can make it right for your kids.”
