Prince of Wales talks about grief on charity visits

The prince of Wales has talked to teens about dealing with grief during a visit to a charity.

William traveled to Widnes, Cheshire, Wednesday to see the work done by Child Bereeavement UK, of which he has been a patron since 2009.

William talked to teens from the charity group for young people meeting monthly.

He asked, “Did you find it quite difficult in the beginning to talk about how you felt?”

Rebecca, 17, who lost his father, said, “I didn’t really know how I felt it because it was very sudden.

“Child eligibility UK helped me direct the way I felt.”

William said, “Sometimes the hardest thing is to find the words of how you feel.”

He added: “It’s important for the first few years, especially that you have support like this.

“It gets you in a practice knowing how you can help yourself forward.”

In a speech after the meeting, Rebecca said: “He knows exactly the situation we have been in. He has also been in the same situation, also around our age. I feel like it was good because he really understood. “

Ella, 17, who also spoke to William, added: “I think he understands how grief works.

“He seemed comfortable to be able to talk to us about things.”

Meika, 15, told the prince she had stopped going to school after her grandmother died.

William said, “The mind is focused on one thing, right? It is very difficult to be able to make school and normal life. “

Teenagers made memory jars, filled with salt in colors that reminded them of loved ones as they spoke with William.

The prince had a private meeting with deprived parents in his time in offices, which he was shown around by Sophie Cartwright, lead service for the North.

He then met staff, volunteers and fundraisers including 16-year-old boxer Clayton, from Carlton in Nottingham, who started collecting to the charity after his coach Tommy Thompson used the service after his daughter’s death.

When Clayton asked William if he liked boxing, he replied, “No, I don’t mind throwing a few strokes around, but not at your level.

“It’s also exhausting.”

Obviously he has been through the same situation as many people, so you can see when he says he is happy about what we’re doing, it’s important because he knows what it’s for others

Clayton, 16

Clayton has raised thousands of pounds to the charity with challenges, including running 250 km over 25 days.

In a speech after meeting William, Clayton said, “He was a real person, very down to earth.

“Obviously, he has been through the same situation as many people, so you can see when he says he is happy about what we are doing, it is important because he knows what it is like for others. “

The well -being association, which provides free, confidential grief support for children and young people, as well as families where a child is dead, launched in 1994 with the support of William’s Mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

Executive Manager Sue Randall said: “The prince has been involved since 2009, and he has been brilliant as a patron. He has done all sorts of things for us and is always very helpful and tries to do as much as he can around our work.

“It gives us a profile by having such a fantastic patron saint, and personally he is very much in line with what we do.”

Before he traveled, William was shown the charity’s “before I die” wall, which consists of messages from people who detailed what they would achieve before they died.

He laughed at a message saying, “Win Fortnite Cash Cup.”

After reading some of the other notes, he said, “It’s very interesting, isn’t it? Fantastic. There are lots of family, isn’t there? The family mentioned all the way through there. “