Prince William says fatherhood brought back grief of Princess Diana’s death

Prince William admits having children was one of his life’s “scariest” moments because it dredged up the grief of losing his mum.

Prince William admits having children was one of his life’s “scariest” moments because it dredged up the grief of losing his mother, Princess Diana, when he was only 15.

William, now 37, makes the acknowledgment in a documentary on football and mental health, set for release Thursday.

The prince describes how Diana’s death in a 1997 car crash in Paris was “traumatic” for him and how being a father had sometimes been “overwhelming” as the memories came flooding back, the Times of London reported.

Princess Diana, Prince Charles and their children William and Harry in 1995. Picture: Johnny Eggitt / AFP

Britain's Prince William and Prince Harry bowing their heads as their mother's coffin is taken out of Westminster Abbey. Picture: AFP / Adam Butler

“Having children is the biggest life-changing moment, it really is,” he said “I think when you’ve been through something traumatic in life … my mother dying when I was younger, the emotions come back, in leaps and bounds.”

William sees fatherhood as “a very different phase of life — there’s no one there to help you, and I definitely found it very, at times, overwhelming. Emotionally, things come out of the blue that you don’t ever expect or that maybe you think you’ve dealt with,” according to the Times.

He tells his three children — Prince George, 6; Princess Charlotte, 5; and 2-year-old Prince Louis — “constantly” about Diana.

“It’s important that they know who she was and that she existed,” he said.

The Cambridges Christmas card including Kate, William, Prince Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Source Twitter

This article originally appeared on The New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Prince William says fatherhood brought back grief of Princess Diana’s death