Prince William and Kate Middleton took some time to greet mourners at Queen Elizabeth's Sandringham estate on Thursday. The couple stopped to chat up some of the people who had gathered to pay their respects to the much-loved monarch after her September 8 death, and Kate even shared a little about how her three children are handling the sad news.
It's been a hard week for the people of the UK
Despite her 96 years, Elizabeth's death came as a shock for many. Though her health had declined dramatically over the past year, she'd still been attending events and carrying out some of her more high-profile royal duties, including appointing a new prime minister just days before her death.
Understandably, Kate and William's young kids are struggling to cope with their loss
Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis were very close with their great-grandmother — in fact they'd just moved a few yards away from her to live on the grounds of her expansive Windsor estate — so many people have been wondering how the young royals are taking the news.
One person was worried enough to ask Kate about it while she was at Sandringham.
George, who knew his great-grandmother the longest, fully grasps the situation.
According to The Daily Mail, Kate told onlookers that her eldest son, who turned 9 in July, "understands the loss," while 7-year-old Princess Charlotte and 4-year-old Prince Louis are still trying to make sense of things. It has to be hard for the siblings, who only just started at their new school the week the Queen died.
Fortunately, Louis seems to have a positive outlook on the loss of the Queen
When Kate visited with mourners in Windsor last Saturday, she described the moment she had to break the news to her youngest child. "My little Louis is just so sweet," Kate could be heard saying in a video that was shared on TikTok. "He was like, 'Mummy, don't worry. She's now with great-grandpa.'"
Leave it to the children to find a silver lining to such a difficult situation.
The children have been kept out of the spotlight over the past week
While their parents, aunt and uncle, and grandparents have all been taking part in the Queen's multiday memorial service, George, Charlotte, and Louis have been kept away from the formal events. Whether it's because of royal tradition, or just William and Kate trying to shield them from having to grieve publicly, we're glad to hear that they're getting a chance to talk about their emotions surrounding the Queen's death.
It certainly sounds like they are getting a lot of support from William and Kate, and we wouldn't have expected anything less.
