Fans and mourners gathered at the Kensington Palace gates yesterday to pay their respects to the late Princess Diana on what would have been her 58th birthday—but they weren’t alone.
Royal well-wishers were shocked when Prince William made a surprise appearance to express his gratitude for helping to keep his mother’s memory alive. The 37-year-old Duke of Cambridge emerged from the palace dressed casually in a button-down shirt and greeted fans.
He shook hands, thanked them for the flowers and photos they’d left and took the time to talk about his mother’s passing.
“William told me he knew we’d been coming here for years and thanked us for what we were doing for his mother,” John Loughrey told the Daily Mail. “I’m still shaking now. I feel very emotional.”