Prince William Is Taking After Princess Diana And Teaching His Kids The Importance of Philanthropy

Sep 08, 2022

Princess Diana was a member of the British royal family and was viewed by many as the "people’s princess." She was a doting mother to her two children, Prince William and Prince Harry, and always cared for them dearly. During her time in the spotlight as a key member of the royal family due to her marriage to Prince Charles, Diana was highly respected for her friendliness, charisma, activism and charity work. She was also well-known for having an impeccable sense of style.

Once she became the Princess of Wales, Diana took on many royal duties and responsibilities and represented the royal family well at many events and functions across the Commonwealth. As a mother, much of her work centered around the upbringing of children. Diana also worked at balancing life as a mother and an important royal figure, and oftentimes would bring her sons with her during royal outings. She regularly broke royal traditions as she set out to be the type of mother she yearned to be.

Although she is no longer with us, Diana’s memory has continued to live on through her sons. Always putting her children as her first priority, Diana made sure to include them during her royal outings and engagements. The Independent reported that Diana took William with her on her first overseas tour in 1983 when he was only 9 months old. Diana used her influence to enact good, spending much of her time campaigning for humanitarian causes that improved the lives of others. She sat with people who were ill, helping to break the stigma of the then-new diseases HIV and AIDS. After taking William on her tour endeavor at such a young age, her philanthropy efforts live on through him today. 

Prince William had charity and philanthropic efforts instilled in him from a very young age. While married into the royal family, Princess Diana was a part of over 100 charities. Diana took William to support many positive efforts before she died in 1997. Much like his mother who supported many charities, William is known to be part of 30 charities himself. Aside from teaching his children about volunteering, sources have said the family is strict with their parenting. According to Nine, as long as William is around, Diana’s philanthropic efforts will live on. Royal commentator, Katie Nicholl, said:

"As long as William is there, even as an older man, as an older king, the fruits of his labour, such as work that he will do, the king that he will be is going to be ... the influence of Diana, the influence that she had on him from such an early age and throughout his adulthood, is there. You can't deny it."

The commentator added, "I think just the ethos of her philanthropy, her ideology of how the world could be philanthropic in a modern world, I think William will continue that throughout his tenure as Prince of Wales and reign as King."

Recently, William shared that not only is philanthropy important to him but it is important for him to teach his children about specific causes as well. The future king spent time volunteering for an organization called The Big Issue, which is an award-winning magazine that provides employment opportunities to impoverished people. The magazine has a strong reputation as an outstanding brand and a trustworthy news source in the United Kingdom.  

Writing for The Big Issue in June of 2022, William shared that having all three of his children see good work done in the world is very important to him. 

"Homelessness is not an irrevocable fact of life. It is an issue that can be solved," he wrote. "In the years ahead, I hope to bring George, Charlotte and Louis to see the fantastic organisations doing inspiring work to support those most in need — just as my mother did for me," he said.

However, royal commentator Nicholl said that she believes Diana's lasting influence will eventually fade out. "I think it probably will fade away when George is King, yeah, because it will be by that point a generation removed, and I think that we're looking at more than half a century's time," she said. 

Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge work hard to make sure that their children have philanthropic efforts instilled in them forever by setting a good example. Back in June 2020, the Cambridges posted to their Instagram that their two eldest kids were volunteering alongside their father. The photo read: 

“As we approach the end of #VolunteersWeek The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are pleased to share a new photo taken by The Duchess as they played their own part in the national volunteering effort. In April, The Duke and Duchess and their family visited the Sandringham Estate where they packed up and delivered food parcels to isolated pensioners in the local area.”

It is safe to say that Princess Diana did a wonderful job of passing down her passion for philanthropy, just as her son is doing with his children. 

Do you think that Prince William’s children will keep volunteering as they get older? We believe they will! If you found this article inspiring — send it to family members or friends who will think the same!