Despite 2024 being the "hardest year" in Prince William's life, he and The Princess of Wales are focused on supporting each other, as well as keeping kindness at the heart of everything they do.
It's something Kate has previously said the couple strive to teach their children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis.
© Getty"And I'm also going to throw empathy in there as well, because I really care about what I do," William said. "It helps impacts people's lives. And I think we could do with some more empathetic leadership around the world. So that's what I'm trying to bring, that's what Catherine is trying to bring as well."
His comments come as two new HELLO! polls voted William and Kate the kindest members of the royal family.
"Behind the scenes, there are countless letters, messages, visits, phone calls that nobody knows about. But even in this toughest of years, this focus on helping others does not stop," a close source tells HELLO!.
A friend of the couple adds: "Empathy and compassion are so important to the Princes and Princess of Wales. They're incredibly kind people who really care about the work they do."
Meanwhile, those who have been on the receiving end of the couple's benevolent gestures, including private acts of kindness that happen behind the scenes - tell us how much it meant to them.
Among them is Paula Hudgell, whose adopted son Tony, 10, has developed a sweet friendship with Kate, 42, during her visits to the Evaline Children's Hospital, where he has been treated since he was a baby, when both his legs had to be amputated because of horrific abuse inflicted by his birth parents. He has since raised £1.8 million for the hospital charity, of which Kate is Royal Patron.
© Getty"There is just something between Kate and Tony and when she talks to him, she's like his best friend," Paula, 57 tells HELLO!. "There are no airs and graces; it's all just pure kindness and an appreciation of each other. When we first met her, Tony was tiny with his little legs and straight away she got down on the floor with him so she was at his level. She sits down and does colouring with him and never seems rushed."
"When we saw her last year she gave me a cuddle because I got a bit emotional that day. And I get the impression she and William know what Tony's up to. He's had letters from both of them to congratulate him on his fundraising and when William gave me my OBE at Windsor Castle last year, he was waving at Tony and asked about my cancer and chemo," adds Paula, from Kent, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer two years ago.
"As Tony grows up, I hope he will know how special he is and the hearts he's touched, and to be endorsed by the Royal Family in everything he does is so lovely. Now, whenever he sees the Princess on TV he says, 'there's my Kate'."
© GettyMore recently, Kate made an unscheduled appearance at an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, where William, 42, was being photographed by Liz Hatton, 17, who has terminal cancer. When William heard that the budding photographer, from Harrogate, had compiled a bucket list and, he invited her to take pictures. However, Liz wasn't expecting to both William and Kate to come and meet her afterwards – something she described as a "massive shock".
© Instagram"Talking to them was amazing because it was like talking to anyone, like just a normal person. There was no sort of grandeur about them, there was just humanity and kindness," she said later.
It's a sentiment shared by members of HELLO!'s Royal Club who overwhelmingly voted for William and Kate as our kindest royals. Likewise, the couple also topped a poll on our website.
Perhaps they remembered the couple's ability to go the extra mile with their low-key acts of kindness, such as the time William decided to visit the late Deborah James at home to present her with her damehood shortly before she succumbed to bowel cancer, because she wasn't well enough to travel. Deborah, who had raised more than £5 million for cancer research, told how the Prince joined her family for afternoon tea and champagne, adding that he was "so kind and he put us all at ease".
William made a similar trip to Leeds earlier this year to present retired rugby league stars Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield with their CBEs for their Motor Neuron Disease fundraising.
© GettyHis visit meant that Rob, who died from the disease a few months later at the age of 41, was able to share the experience with his wife Lindsey and their children Macey, 12, Maya, eight and five-year-old Jackson. The Prince has since written the foreword for Lindsey's upcoming book Take Care, her account of life as Rob's carer, which will be published in February.
© Getty"William was absolutely lovely and really engaged with the kids," Lindsey told Hello! at the time. "It was the first time Rob had met William and he was so genuine and sincere. He was really invested in hearing about Rob and Kevin's campaign and the story of how they grew up together when they were playing for Leeds Rhinos."
Sarah Carrick, from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, was also touched by Kate's compassion when they met at Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriage Research during Baby Loss Awareness Week four years ago. Sarah told Kate how she had suffered multiple miscarriages before she and her husband Adam welcomed their "rainbow baby" Ari in 2020 with the help of the centre's research.
© Getty"Kate listened with great empathy and told my husband and me that we had 'great courage to keep trying," Sarah, 30, tells HELLO! "She was very compassionate and respectful when hearing about our experience of growing our family, particularly the heartbreak of losing multiple babies. As a mother herself, I knew throughout our conversation that she was genuinely sad to learn about our loss and how it had impacted our lives.
© Getty"She was so friendly and relaxed it made it very easy to be so honest in our heartbreaking journey of becoming parents again. You could tell she genuinely had an interest in learning about baby loss, our real life experiences and that our stories touched her in some way. Her kindness that day has always stayed with me, as has her willingness to raise awareness about something so close to my heart."
Those who work alongside William and Kate in their charity work also praise their warm, genuine approach to their work. Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, a firefighter and psychologist who spent time living on the streets as a teenager after her father died, has got to know William through his Homewards project to end homelessness, which was the subject of a recent ITV documentary. During filming, Sabrina introduced William to Wayne, who recovered from homelessness after having spent years rough sleeping.
© Getty"I've witnessed the Prince's kindness first-hand through working with him on Homewards," Sabrina tells us. "There's a lot that he does that people don't see as well with visits, meeting people experiencing homelessness, and it's all done away from the cameras. One of the things the Prince brings to this, because he's experienced his own trauma, is that he's really good at being able to relate to how that affects you at your core."
Hannah Jones, chief executive of The Earthshot Prize, which took part in South Africa last week, tells HELLO! how kindness underpins the work of the environmental initiative William launched in 2020 to find solutions to save the planet.
"We have four values in the organisation and I talked about them with the Prince, and our first value is kindness," she explains. "So as an organisation, everything we do has to be rooted in kindness. And it starts with our founder. He just is incredibly generous, very thoughtful about how to use his platform for good and to have an impact."
© GettyMeanwhile Dame Laura Lee, Chief Executive of expert cancer support charity Maggie’s of which Queen Camilla is President, tells Hello! Kate’s willingness to share her own cancer diagnosis has impacted the organisation.
"The Princess of Wales's kindness is always there for everyone to see," she says. "When talking about her own diagnosis she never forgets others experiencing similar situations and that openness, with her kindness, has undoubtedly helped others be more willing to talk about their own difficult emotions, thoughts and feelings while living with cancer. We certainly see and hear in our centres the impact it has on people coming to us for support."
Giovanna Fletcher, who has got to know Kate since the Princess appeared on her Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast in 2020, tells HELLO!: "I think the first time I met the Princess, she was on royal engagement, and just watching the way that she is with people and the way that she really leans in and builds on that conversation shows that she's really listening. There is such care there when she's talking to anyone, that I think is the ultimate act of kindness - to be there, to listen, to hear. And to know that you're heard is pretty brilliant. That is her way, that she really does show kindness. And I guess for me, it's amazing to watch someone with her platform using it for such good."
© InstagramGiovanna says she has also noticed the way Kate tries to put others at ease.
"I remember when she came on the podcast. We'd met a few times before that, but I said, 'I'm quite nervous.' And she said, 'I'm nervous too, but there's nothing to be worried about.' It's her ability to share a little piece of her in order to calm whoever she's talking to. She likes to get rid of the other stuff so that she can actually make a real connection.
© Instagram"There's no denying that she is in a really privileged position, but she does the work that she does with this openness, huge kindness, huge empathy, and she does it in a way that is so genuine. She definitely leads by example, and watching her in action is like a master class in how to be gracious and humble and caring and kind."
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
