Prince William pays tribute to Princess Diana on Mother’s Day with heartfelt message and long-forgotten photo

The Prince of Wales shared a heartfelt message on Sunday, remembering his late mother on Mother’s Day. Taking to Instagram on 15 March, Prince William shared a photo showing Princess Diana with her two-year-old son in a field of flowers, taken at Highgrove in 1984.

The prince penned: “Remembering my mother, today and every day. Thinking of all those who are remembering someone they love today. Happy Mother’s Day. W.”

It is a particularly poignant year for William to celebrate his mother, as Diana, who passed away in 1997, would have turned 65 on 1 July.

Delving into the royal archive

The royal family’s official Instagram account also shared a slew of throwback photos to mark Mother’s Day in the UK. The first in the carousel was a black and white photo featuring the Queen Mother and the late Queen Elizabeth, as well as one of the late Queen with Princess Anne and King Charles as children.

The final photo was an unearthed shot of Queen Camilla and her late mother, Rosalind Shand, who passed away in 1994. “Wishing Mothers everywhere, and those who might be missing their Mums today, a restful Mothering Sunday,” the post was captioned. 

The Princess of Wales’ Mother’s Day post

The Princess of Wales and her and William’s three children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven, did not feature in a post to mark Mother’s Day for 2026. 

It comes two years after the public attention that surrounded Kate’s Mother’s Day post in 2024. Sharing a photo to her and William’s official Instagram account, the princess featured in a photo with her three children that was shot at their then-home, Adelaide Cottage. 

After comments appeared on social media questioning if the photo had been doctored, Kate released a public message addressing the inconsistencies in the photograph. 

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused,” the royal wrote.

“I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.”

The photo was later removed from picture agencies, and a message stating that the photograph had been “altered” appeared on their social media account.