The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's visit to a charity centre in Burnley has turned into a heartwarming scene after Prince William consoled a grieving schoolboy over his mother's death.

Prince William and Kate Middleton visited a charitable centre in Burnley. Credit: PA.​

"It gets easier," Prince William told Deacon Glover, 11, after learning that the boy's mother had passed away last year at the age of 28.

"I know how you feel."

The 39-year-old royal seemed to connect with Deacon as he himself lost his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997 when he was 15.

Princess Diana died in 1997, leaving her sons Prince William and Prince Harry grieving at a young age. Credit: UK Press/Getty Images.​

The royal couple spent 15 minutes chatting with the schoolboy and his great-grandmother, with William talking to Deacon about football.

One volunteer at the centre said: "He thought it was a footballer coming here so he was gutted when he found out it was William and Kate."

Deacon Glover and his great-grandmother Carole Ellis. Credit: Getty Images.​

The Cambridges had asked to visit the centre after they saw the BBC reports on the work of Pastor Mick Fleming — founder of the Church on the Street — helping the homeless and disadvantaged living in Burnley and surrounding areas, saying that they found the charitable initiative "moving".

The charitable organisation — which started operations in 2019 — provides food, clothing, hot showers, laundry services, recovery groups, addiction and mental health support, access to a qualified counsellor, and a refuge for up to 200 people in need.

Pastor Mick said that since the centre runs on donations, he hopes that the visit of Prince William and Kate Middleton would help provide extra support for the people.

"They said they'd seen a BBC report on what we were doing and they'd found it very moving," the pastor said.

"I'm very grateful because hopefully it will mean more people will get to know about what we are doing and more people here will get support because of their royal highnesses coming here."

"We rely on donations and we don't charge a penny for our services."

The Cambridges posed for a picture with the families in the centre before leaving, with Kate finding herself holding a three-and-a-half-month old baby girl and Prince William humorously telling her that she "can't take her with you".

 

[JayKay]

The only thing which gets easier is learning how to cope with the heartache.
The pain of the loss doesn't diminish.

 

[Lynette Finnigan]

He is such a nurturing person.... of course it's not easy to loose a significant person in your family (I lost 2 sisters)... I saw what my parents went through... you never forget them and there's always that empty gap they left.. but your life does have to move on and you do have to keep moving forward, you can't just stop as it affects everyone (I remember mum stopped for a while, and as a child still myself, I had to take on a lot of adult responsibilities) ... life is tough, that and the fact that we all die eventually are the only guarantees in life.

 

[gollywog]

The only thing which gets easier is learning how to cope with the heartache.
The pain of the loss doesn't diminish.

So very true JayKay

 

[rehandra]

My husband lost his mother when he was fourteen, other brother about 16 and the other 17 and the sister 9. None of them ever got over it; learnt to live with it but my sister in law in her early 80's is now having psychological counselling as in those days it was not available. Losing your Mum at 9 and having to go and live with an elderly aunt away from your Dad and bothers was so hard on her. My heart really goes out to her as she has suffered the loss all her life and chose not to have children just in case something happened to her and she did not want any other child to suffer the pain she endures to this day. Yes, you learn to live with it but the pain is always there.

 

[Micky]

Never got over losing my mum at 13. You can't help thinking about all the milestones mum has missed in my life. My 18th, my 21st, my engagement, wedding, the birth of my 3 children (her Grandchildren) Such a tragedy.

 

[Lelly]

My husband lost his father when he was 3 mths old, his mother send his 1yr old sister to live with their grandparents and then when he was 9 she met someone else so he alone with his two siblings were sent to the grandparents as well. He’s a good man and a good father but I can’t help thinking of how much better he would have been had he not had that loss and abandonment. He shut down when he was 9 and he’s never really been able to open those doors since.