Prince William and Prince Harry honoured their mother, the late Princess Diana, with appearances at the Diana Legacy Awards Ceremony March 14 in London.
William who shares Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, with Kate Middleton, attended the event in person at London’s Science Museum. For the affair, which will award 20 of the charity’s young person cohort with Legacy Awards, England’s future king donned a classic tuxedo, and addressed the crowd in a heartfelt speech about his mother.
“I know that she would have been honored to see a charity in her name doing such inspirational work to uplift young people from all corners of the globe,” he said, per a video shared on social media. “She taught me that everyone has potential to give something back; that everyone in need deserves a supporting hand in life.”
After William left, Harry appeared virtually to talk with award recipients, according to ABC News.
The Diana Award Foundation was created in 1999, two years after Diana tragically perished in a car accident with her boyfriend at the time, Dodi Fayed. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the organization is the only charitable establishment to use the Duchess of Cornwall’s namesake.
“That legacy is something both Catherine and I have sought to focus on through our work,” William continued. “As have the 50,000 young people who have received the Diana Award over the past 25 years. I am so proud to see the belief of my mother’s manifested in the amazing young people receiving the Legacy award tonight.”
The Prince of Wales went on to present the awards to each recipient.
Meanwhile, Harry who resides in Montecito, California, with wife Meghan Markle after stepping back from his royal duties in 2020—appeared at the event virtually, and chatted with attendees virtually following the event.
And while the occasion is certainly a milestone for the royal family, especially Prince William and Prince Harry the event comes amid an otherwise turbulent time. As King Charles III, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February, continues to stand down from his royal duties, eyes are also on Kate as she recovers from a planned abdominal procedure she underwent in January.
In an official statement that same month, Kensington Palace previously stated that Kate’s estimated recovery time would keep her from returning to her own royal duties until after Easter. However, after a social media post of Kate and her children celebrating U.K. Mother’s Day was pulled from prominent news organizations’ websites like the Associated Press, the Princess of Wales issued a statement.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” the 42-year-old shared to X, formerly Twitter. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”
William, who earlier in the day on March 14 also visited a youth center, appeared to allude to the attention the photo, which he was credited to have taken—had received.
As he decorated cookies with the children at the event, he quipped, “My wife is the arty one.”