Prince William reportedly made a heartbreaking promise to his mother, Princess Diana, a year before her tragic death.
The Prince of Wales was just 14 years old when his mother, Princess Diana, had to drop the title of “Her Royal Highness” following her divorce from then-Prince Charles in 1996.
Because of the switch, Diana had to give a formal greeting called a curtsy to her ex-husband, her sons and other senior members of the royal family.
In this emotional moment, William promised his mother, “Don’t worry, mom, I’ll give it back to you one day when I’m king.”
For the uninitiated, a curtsy is a traditional way for women or girls to greet someone by slightly bending their knees and lowering their heads.
Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell revealed the pledge from the teenager Wliiam left the princess with lots of emotions via Radaronline.com.
“Diana was incredibly touched by what William said – she told friends it was one of the kindest things he had ever done for her,” a source told the paper.
“Even as a teenager, William was remarkably empathetic,” they continued. “He could see how much the loss of her title hurt her and he just wanted to take that pain away the only way he knew how.”
A year after the divorce, however, Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997.
Another palace source said: “It’s heartbreaking when you think about it. Diana’s loss was the defining wound in William’s life and that little promise became symbolic of everything he couldn’t protect her from.”
“The tragedy is that he will never get to fulfill it – no matter what kind of king he becomes.”
