Prince William’s kind gesture to an elderly lady was a ‘classic Diana move’, according to royal author

After losing his mother at just 15 years old, Prince William has spoken about the importance of keeping Princess Diana’s legacy alive.

He has done this by supporting the causes she championed, such as child bereavement and homelessness.

Gyles Brandreth, a close friend of Prince Philip, even went as far as to describe William as the only royal to outclass both Diana and the Duke of Edinburgh. 

Royal author Tina Brown discusses William’s likeness to his mother and the seemingly ‘normal’ lives the Waleses lead in her book, The Palace Papers.

She wrote: ‘A local charity they diligently support is East Anglia Children’s Hospices, where Kate serves as royal patron.

‘At a charity dinner supporting the hospices at Houghton in 2016, the room was divided into small groups to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who chatted to each guest with synchronised informal expertise.’

One guest, Euan Rellie, told Brown: ‘I was struck by how absolutely perfect William and Kate are at making people feel at ease.’

Brown continued: ‘After dinner, Rellie was privy to a winning off-stage William moment.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are pictured at a charity dinner supporting East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices’ nook appeal, which was raising funds to build and equip a new children’s hospice for families in Norfolk, in 2016

Royal author Tina Brown discusses William’s likeness to his mother and the seemingly ‘normal’ lives the Waleses lead in her book, The Palace Papers

‘One of the most generous donors to the hospice charity, an elderly Park Avenue lady who had come over from the United States for the function and was a huge William fan, was stuck in her room feeling unwell and could not come down to join the other guests.’

Someone had mentioned to William, ‘It’s a shame our highest-roller donor is too ill to meet you’.

William reportedly replied: ‘Is there any chance somebody could make a pot of tea and put some biscuits on a plate?’

He knocked on the door of the elderly lady and said: ‘I know that you were too ill to come to dinner and I thought I’d bring you a cup of tea to say thank you very much for supporting the hospices.’

‘She was over the moon – hard not to be. It was a gesture that showed the imagination and empathy of his mother,’ wrote Brown. 

‘It was a classic Diana Spencer move, just natural, gentle human kindness and had much more effect than a grand act,’ said Rellie.

‘We all thought, how he learned something from his mum.’

This sentiment is echoed by Brandreth, who wrote of William in his 2021 book, Philip The Final Portrait:  ‘I have watched him at close range – at Highgrove, on the polo field, on the streets and in the crowd.

Brown wrote: ‘At a charity dinner supporting the hospices at Houghton in 2016, the room was divided into small groups to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who chatted to each guest with synchronised informal expertise’

William and Kate are pictured with guests at the gala dinner at Houghton Hall on June 22, 2016

William and Kate are greeted by David Cholmondeley, Marquess of Cholmondeley and Rose Cholmondeley, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley as they attend the gala 

‘I have seen him with the aristocracy and everyday folk: he is comfortable with both and they are comfortable with him.

‘He shows concern and empathy, in the way Diana did but without those touches of self-consciousness and self-absorption that her manner sometimes suggested.’

Based on his own experience of loss, William became patron of Child Bereavement UK, a charity which Diana helped launch, on Mother’s Day in 2009.

Royal author Katie Nicholl wrote in her book, The Making of a Royal Romance: ‘Like their mother, who famously said she didn’t want to “just be a name on a letterhead”, neither William nor Harry wants to be figureheads.’

Nicholl wrote: ‘Ironically, it is in the company of strangers that William allows his guard to slip.

‘When, as their new patron, he addressed The Child Bereavement Charity, he drew on his life in order to connect with ordinary people.’

William said in his address: ‘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.’

William is pictured walking with a group of homeless young people helped by Centrepoint on a fell walk on July 24, 2009, in Cumbria

The Prince of Wales meets children who have been supported by Child Bereavement UK during a visit to the charity service on February 5, 2025

Throughout his life, William has committed himself to serving Diana’s charities and causes.

Like his mother, who famously held an AIDS patient in her arms at a time when people thought you could contract the disease through touching, William has the common touch.

In 2009, William discussed the work of the Prince’s Foundation, saying: ‘There is a time and a place for being an ornament, or shaking people’s hands and being at an engagement.

‘But I think there’s an awful lot more from actually doing stuff.

‘You could just turn up and open things – and don’t get me wrong, there’s always a good reason to do that – but it’s about bringing some other things into it as well.’

Nicholl wrote: ‘This is why William chose to spend his 27th birthday meeting former gangsters in an attempt to understand street culture in Britain and why he spent a night before Christmas sleeping on the streets of London in minus-four-degree temperatures.’

‘I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable people on our streets,’ he said.

William talks with a young homeless person at a Centrepoint homeless hostel during his visit to the centre on December 20, 2006 in London, England. His mother Princess Diana was a previous Patron of the charity and is seen here on a visit to meet homeless people

William is pictured during his first visit to a Centrepoint hostel for the homeless in Soho in January 1996

Vivienne Parry, a longtime friend of Diana, wrote: ‘Diana was always passionate about her work with homeless people, and William is the same.

‘It was amazing when he slept rough on the street and quite extraordinary that he was able to do that. Diana would have loved it.

‘Diana often said to me that she felt like an outsider and she identified with people who were struggling. I see that in William and Harry, too.’