William found solace ‘in dark days of grief'

PRINCE William has said Scotland will always hold a “special place” in his heart as it is where some of his “happiest” and “saddest” memories are from.

- Tony Whitfield

The Duke of Cambridge revealed he was on the Queen’s Balmoral estate when he was told his mother, Diana, had died and “in the dark days of grief that followed” he “found comfort and solace in the Scottish outdoors”.

He added “alongside this painful memory” was “one of great joy” in meeting his future wife, Kate Middleton when they were students at St Andrews University 20 years ago.

In an opening address at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday, he recalled what the country meant to him and his family.

He said his grandmother “relished” every minute she spent there while his father, Prince Charles, was “never happier than when walking among the hills”.

And he added his three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, already know how dear Scotland was to both him and Catherine, and have all started building “their own happy memories here too”.

William, 38, known as the Earl of Strathearn north of the border, made the moving comments a day after his brother Harry’s latest attacks on their family and the damning revelations of an inquiry into an infamous BBC Panorama interview with his mother.