After Prince Phillip's death, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge helped their children understand and deal with the loss of their great-grandfather in a heart-breaking way.
The Duke of Cambridge had to explain to his three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, before the funeral that their great-grandfather had passed away.
The Prince is said to have told them about the news by saying that Prince Phillip had turned into “an angel.”
The children did not attend the funeral itself because of Covid restrictions and their young ages.
A source told UsWeekly: “William told George, Charlotte and Louis that Prince Philip has ‘gone to heaven’ and ‘is an angel now'.
“They’re still so young so he and Kate wanted to let them down gently.”
In the days after, William shared a photo of his oldest son, George, with the Duke of Edinburgh, who died aged 99.
Prince William wrote, “I will never take for granted the special memories my children will always have of their great-grandpa coming to collect them in his carriage and seeing for themselves his infectious sense of adventure as well as his mischievous sense of humour!”
The royal source spoke about how affected the young children had been by the loss of their great-grandfather.
They said: “Naturally, the children are very upset, particularly George and Charlotte.
“Louis is still very young and had only met Prince Philip a couple of times.”
The pandemic had also meant they wouldn’t have seen one another for months before his passing as well.
Despite this, William has been helping his children remember Philip.
“George, Charlotte and Louis helped William choose a photograph of Prince Philip to hang in their home in memory of him,” the source said.
William had previously spoken about why it was so important for his children to be able to discuss their feelings.
He said: “Catherine and I are clear that we want both George and Charlotte to grow up feeling able to talk about their emotions.
“For too long there has been a taboo about talking about some important issues. If you were anxious, it’s because you were weak.
“If you couldn’t cope with whatever life threw at you, it’s because you were failing.
"Successful, strong people don’t suffer like that, do they? But of course — we all do.”
Prince William also regularly talks to his children about his own mother, Princess Diana, and has placed photos of her all around the house.
In the documentary, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, he said he is always “talking about Granny Diana".
He said: “It’s hard because obviously Catherine didn’t know her so she cannot really provide that level of detail, so I regularly put George and Charlotte to bed, talk about her and just try to remind them that there are two grandmothers, there were two grandmothers in their lives.
“So it’s important that they know who she was and that she existed.”
