Prince William and Brother Harry Honor Mother Princess Diana With Sweet Gestures

On Sunday, those in the U.K. celebrated Mother’s Day, so Prince Harry and Prince William took time to honor their late mother, Princess Diana, in their own way. Harry arranged to have flowers placed outside Diana’s grave on the Spencer family estate in Northamptonshire, a spokesperson confirmed. Meanwhile, William took to Instagram to share notes their children wrote to their grandmother.

Harper’s Bazaar royal editor Omid Scobie tweeted Sunday that a spokesperson for Harry confirmed he arranged for flowers to be laid at Diana’s grave. Harry and his wife, former Suits actress Meghan Markle, did not comment on Mother’s Day themselves, as the two stopped using their Instagram page last year. “No matter what you call your mum, this Mother’s Day in the UK, we honor the mums all over the world who do so much every single day, and now more than ever,” they wrote in a statement on Mother’s Day 2020.

As for Prince William and Kate Middleton, they shared photos of drawings and cards made by their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. “Dear Granny Diana, happy Mother’s Day,” George, 7, wrote in his letter. “I love you very much and think of you always, sending lots of love from George.” Charlotte, 5, also wrote a note, telling Diana “papa is missing you.” The card from Louis, 2, was a colored heart with Louis’ signature.

“This year Mother’s Day will be different once again,” the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wrote on their Instagram page. “Many of us will be apart from our loved ones, but looking forward to a time in the not too distant future when we can give our mother a hug again. But for those experiencing bereavement, today may be particularly challenging. Each year on Mother’s Day, George, Charlotte, and Louis make cards remembering their Granny, Diana, for William. Whatever your circumstances, we are thinking of you this Mother’s Day.”

This year’s Mother’s Day also felt different for the royal family because it came in the shadow of Harry and Markle’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. During their interview, Harry said his older brother is “trapped within the system” of the royal family. William is second in line to the British throne, after their father, Prince Charles. “The feeling is that it was our decision and therefore the consequences are on us,” Harry told Winfrey. “It’s been really hard because I’m part of the system with them, I always have been, but I am very aware of this that my brother can’t leave that system, but I have.”

Harry said he still loves his brother “to bits,” nothing that the two have “been through hell together.” They have a “shared experience” as brothers who lost their mother at a young age, but they are “on different paths.” He described their relationship as “space at the moment,” adding that, “Time heals all things, hopefully.”