Prince William says parenthood brought back emotions of Diana's death

The Duke of Cambridge Prince William shared that becoming a father brought back painful emotions from his own childhood “in leaps and bounds”.

In new BBC documentary that aired on Thursday, the royal opened up about overwhelming and ‘life-changing’ challenges of having children. He said that becoming a parent brought back the trauma he experienced following the death of his mother, Princess Diana.

He told former professional soccer player Marvin Sordell in the documentary that emotional events of the past — such as losing a parent — can resurface.

“Having children is the biggest life-changing moment, it really is,” the father of three said. “I think when you’ve been through something traumatic in life … your emotions come back in leaps and bounds because it’s a very different phase of life,” Prince William said.

“I think when you’ve been through something traumatic in life — and that is, like you say, your dad not being around, my mother dying when I was younger — your emotions come back in leaps and bounds because it’s a very different phase of life.

“And there’s no-one there to, kind of, help you, and I definitely found it very, at times, overwhelming,” he added.

Prince William lost his mother Princess Diana at the age of 15. She died in a Paris car crash in 1997.

He and his wife Kate Middleton welcomed their first child Prince George in 2013. They have since had Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The Duke of Cambridge is a longtime campaigner on mental health issues.