Comforting the survivors of the fire which has claimed 58 lives so far; a death toll which is expected to rise, William embraced a sobbing woman who had reportedly lost her husband in the blaze.
Royal protocol restricts physical contact with the royal family to handshakes only, but William was only too willing to break away from the rules to offer what comfort he could to the distressed woman.
His mother, Diana, was also renowned for her way of treating everyone with warmth and compassion, far from the ‘arm’s length’ treatment that is expected from royalty.
The North Kensington building was gutted when the fire ripped through it in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and firefighters have said that the operation is now one of a recovery, not rescue, and they do not expect to find any more survivors.
William was overheard describing the charred remains of the apartment block as “one of the most terrible things I have ever seen”, while the Queen appeared stoic as she was briefed on the recovery effort.
This article first published on Starts at 60.