Prince William Speaks Out About Diana for First Time

LONDON, March 13, 2009 -- As Britain's celebration of Mother's Day approaches, Prince William has spoken publicly for the first time about the pain of losing his mother as a young teen.

The prince spoke out at a charity launch for the Child Bereavement Group's campaign "Remember on Mother's Day." He told the crowd, many of whom had lost loved ones, that he feels nothing but emptiness on Mother's Day.

"Never being able to say the word 'mummy' again in your life sounds like a small thing. However, for many, including me, it is now really just a word -- hollow and evoking only memories," he told the crowd.

The future king was just 15 when his mother died and until now has not spoken publicly about his loss. In the speech, he said "that losing a close family member is one of the hardest experiences anyone can endure."

Following in his mother's footsteps, Prince William became Royal Patron of the charity yesterday, a cause that supports families both when a child dies and when a child is bereaved. His mother, Princess Diana, had attended the organization's launch 15 years ago and it was one of the many charities she supported until her death in 1997.

The charity was started by one of Princess Diana's friends, Julia Samuel, patron founder of the organization. She told ABC News.com that Diana decided to help launch the charity as a favor to her and now she's thrilled to have William on board too.

"I cannot even begin to say how delighted we are that Prince William has agreed to be our patron. It will make a huge difference to raising awareness of the charity and its work in supporting families and professionals when the unthinkable happens," she said.

Samuel told ABC News.com that the prince is the perfect person to front the Mother's Day campaign. "We were all very moved by the honesty of what he said. Some of the stigma is taken away when someone like him talks about bereavement, which is very helpful for the charity."

After the speech, William held a series of private meetings with families that had benefited from the charity. He hopes he can now use his experiences to help others. Writing in the Daily Mail newspaper he said, "I took on this role because I know what it is like to lose someone you love so much."