The Prince of Wales has spoken to teenagers about dealing with bereavement during a visit to a charity.
William travelled to Widnes, Cheshire, on Wednesday to see the work done by Child Bereavement UK, of which he has been a patron since 2009.
William spoke to teenagers from the charity’s group for young people, which meets monthly.
He asked: “Did you find it quite hard at the beginning to talk about how you felt?”
Rebecca, 17, who lost her father, said: “I didn’t really know how I felt because it was very sudden.
“Child Bereavement UK helped me direct the way I felt about it.”
William said: “Sometimes the hardest thing is finding the words for how you feel.”
He added: “It’s crucial those first few years particularly that you have support like this.
“It gets you in a practice to know how to help yourself going forward.”
Speaking after the meeting, Rebecca said: “He knows exactly the situation we’ve been in. He’s been in the same situation, around our age as well. 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 speak to us about stuff.”
Meika, 15, told the Prince she had stopped going to school after her grandmother died.
William said: “The mind gets focused on one thing, doesn’t it? It’s very difficult to be able to do school and normal life.”
The teenagers made memory jars, filled with salt in colours which reminded them of their loved ones, as they spoke to William.
The prince had a private meeting with bereaved parents during his time at the offices, which he was shown around by Sophie Cartwright, bereavement service lead for the north.
He then met staff, volunteers and fundraisers including 16-year-old boxer Clayton, from Carlton in Nottingham, who began fundraising for the charity after his coach Tommy Thompson used the service following his daughter’s death.
When Clayton asked William if he liked boxing, he replied: “No, I don’t mind throwing a few punches around but not at your level.
“It’s exhausting as well.”
Obviously he’s been through the same situation as a lot of people so you can see when he does say he’s glad of what we’re doing, it’s important because he knows what it’s like for others
Clayton has raised thousands of pounds for the charity with challenges including running 250km over 25 days.
Speaking after meeting William, Clayton said: “He was a genuine person, very down to earth.
“Obviously he’s been through the same situation as a lot of people so you can see when he does say he’s glad of what we’re doing, it’s important because he knows what it’s like for others.”
The charity, which provides free, confidential bereavement support for children and young people, as well as families where a child has died, was launched in 1994 with support from William’s mother Diana, Princess of Wales.
Executive manager Sue Randall said: “The prince has been involved since 2009 and he’s been brilliant as patron. He’s 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 an amazing patron and personally he is very in tune with what we do.”
Before leaving, William was shown the charity’s “Before I Die” wall made up of messages from people detailing what they wanted to achieve before they died.
He laughed at one message which said: “Win the Fortnite cash cup.”
After reading some of the other notes, he said: “It’s very interesting, isn’t it? Fantastic. There’s lots of family, isn’t there? Family mentioned all the way through there.”
