She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life

Prince of Wales’ tribute to his beloved ‘Grannie’

PRINCE WILLIAM paid a moving tribute to his ‘Grannie’ yesterday, saying it would be ‘some time’ before her loss ‘will truly feel real’.

Writing for the first time as the Prince of Wales, William said that while the world had lost ‘an extraordinary leader’, he had ‘lost a grandmother’ and would ‘grieve for her loss’.

In the highly personal 240-word statement, the Prince, who is now first in line to the Throne, said his children would have ‘memories that will last their whole lives’ from their time spent with the Queen, adding he would ‘honour her memory’ by supporting his father, the King.

William said: ‘She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life. I knew this day would come, but it will be some time before the reality of life without Grannie will truly feel real.’

While it was known that both William and his brother Harry referred to the Queen as Grannie, the spelling is unusual: the more commonly used form today is ‘Granny’.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the ‘y’ variant is actually slightly older, coming into use in the 1600s, while ‘Grannie’ was adopted in the 1700s.

King Charles III announced William and Kate as the new Prince and Princess of Wales in his historic address to the nation on Friday evening.

The title means William is following in his father’s footsteps, and Kate has become the first person since Diana, Princess of Wales to use the title, which Diana held when she was married to Charles.