Monday would have been Princess Diana's 58th birthday, and even though she isn't physically on this earth to celebrate, every year many Princess Di fans gather outside Kensington Palace (where Diana once called her home) with photos, flowers and flags to celebrate for her.
This year was incredibly memorable for those mourners who went to the palace this year though, as Prince William went down to meet them and to thank them for keeping his mother's memory alive.
Photos show Prince William dressed casually in a button-down shirt and slacks while greeting fans with handshakes and talking to them about his late mother, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997.
“William told me he knew we’d been coming here for years and thanked us for what we were doing for his mother,” one mourner told the Daily Mail. “I’m still shaking now. I feel very emotional.”
The mourners decorated the Kensington Palace gate with photos, flowers and flags.
“We are here to honor Diana’s legacy,” one woman told the Daily Mail. “We are two generations down now, and there are children growing up who don’t even know who she is. It’s important that we remind them and remember.”
She added, “None of us could believe it when William suddenly walked down the drive to come and thank us. He really is his mother’s son.”
William also talked about the commemorative statue of his mother to be placed in the Kensington Palace gardens, saying it would be coming “soon, very soon.”
“We just want to make sure it is right,” he said, according to the Daily Mail. “It’s important to get it right.”
