Queen comforted William after Diana death

The Duke of Cambridge has credited the Queen for helping him through the loss of his mother, Diana Princess of Wales, saying she has been a powerful female influence in his life.

The Duke of Cambridge has hailed his mother Queen Elizabeth II as "incredibly supportive" of him. Picture: Colin Mearns

He also highlighted his grandmother had been “incredibly supportive” of him and been someone for him to look up to.

Speaking to Sky News for a documentary called The Queen At 90 to celebrate the monarch’s birthday, William recalled how a childhood telling off from The Queen has stayed with him throughout his life.

He said: “She’s been a very strong female influence and having lost my mother at a young age, it’s been particularly important to me that I’ve had somebody like the Queen to look up to and who’s been there and who has understood some of the more, um, complex issues when you lose a loved one...

“So she’s been incredibly supportive and I’ve really appreciated her guidance.”

Referring to a childhood incident which landed him in hot water with the Queen, William described getting into trouble with his cousin Peter Phillips after riding a quad bike at Balmoral.

He said: “We were chasing Zara around who was on a go-cart, and Peter and I managed to herd Zara into a lamppost. And the lamppost came down and nearly squashed her, and I remember my grandmother being the first person out at Balmoral running across the lawn in her kilt.

“(She) came charging over and gave us the most almighty bollocking, and that sort of stuck in my mind from that moment on.”

The documentary will be shown on Sky News at 9pm on Wednesday.

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