Prince William is on the cover of the July issue of British GQ. They’re calling it “the most candid interview he’s ever given”. As you know, it’ll be 20 years since the passing of Princess Diana in August. Over the last couple months, as part of their mental health awareness initiative, Heads Together, William and Harry have both spoken about how they dealt with their own anxiety and grief after the trauma of losing their mother. As Will explains:

“I am in a better place about it than I have been for a long time, where I can talk about her more openly, talk about her more honestly, and I can remember her better, and publicly talk about her better. It has taken me almost 20 years to get to that stage. I still find it difficult now because at the time it was so raw. And also it is not like most people’s grief, because everyone else knows about it, everyone knows the story, everyone knows her. It is a different situation for most people who lose someone they love, it can be hidden away or they can choose if they want to share their story."

I mean, he’s not wrong. That’s not to say his grief is any more or less than anyone else’s. But he and his brother almost had to share it with the rest of the world, with us. As insulting as this is to say, I was deeply affected by Diana’s death. So much so that it probably became an obsession. Can you imagine what it would be like for them to have to listen to assholes like me telling them over and over again how much we miss her and how devastating it was to have her taken away like that? How much restraint it would take to not outburst, YOU? YOU’RE DEVASTATED? SHE’S OUR MOTHER!

That’s what I think he’s getting at – only in a much kinder, more graceful way. And of course that’s not what hurts most. For William, what hurts most, of course, is the missing:

"I would like to have had her advice. I would love her to have met Catherine and to have seen the children grow up. It makes me sad that she won’t, that they will never know her."

As previously observed, for them, given how William and Harry were raised, this is a level of intimacy that’s not typically seen from those in their position. But you can’t talk about mental health without sharing, without relating. You can’t encourage people to talk, to break the silence and to get help, without talking yourself. So there’s nothing to criticise here. William, Harry, and Catherine, in choosing, specifically, this cause to support, would have been well aware of what would be expected of them. And they are living up to it. 

Click here to read more from William’s interview with British GQ and to see more photos, including a family portrait with Big G, Charlotte – and Lupo too! Not sure how Big G is handling the fact that his is the only face you can’t see. He’s in the foreground of the shot – AS USUAL – but his back is to us. BUT THEY CAN’T SEE MEEEEEEEEEEEE.