'Diana was so proud': 10-year-old Prince William's 'impressive' first speech

Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter has recalled the amazing moment she witnessed a then 10-year-old Prince William give one of his first speeches at his mother’s Christmas party.

A teenaged Victoria was given an inside look at royal life when she lived at Kensington Palace while her father Dickie Arbiter was the Queen’s press secretary.

The man of the family

She told Yahoo UK’s ‘The Royal Box’ about attending Princess Diana’s 1992 Christmas ‘do at the palace, where music legends George Michael and Elton John were among the high-profile guests.

“Diana was standing with us and she had asked William, as the man of the family, to stand up and make a speech. She just wanted him to thank everyone for coming,” Victoria explained.

“And William, at 10 years old, he stood up on a box and thanked all the guests for coming, and it was an incredibly impressive thing for a 10-year-old to do,” she went on.

A proud mum

Victoria went on to describe Diana’s reaction to her eldest son’s speech, saying, “She was so proud, she was beaming.”

She recalled that Prince Harry, who was about eight years old at the time, was tugging on his mum’s skirt trying to get her attention during the party.

“She was like ‘shut up Harry, one minute, one minute,” Victoria said.

“I think that was another example of their personalities, Harry just busy and wanting to be in the midst of everything and chatty.

“I suppose really what he shares with Diana is her mischievous, cheeky, naughty side, that you see play out.

“William embodies so many of her qualities as well but in a sort of much quieter fashion, I suppose you sort of see it in a stand-back kind of way.”

Remembering Diana

William and Harry were just 15 and 12 when their mother tragically died in a car accident in Paris, in 1997.

Since then, the grown up brothers have made sure to remember and honour their late mum by continuing her charitable endeavours and keeping her relatives involved in big royal events such as Harry’s son Archie’s christening.

Prince William stunned well-wishers by attending a vigil outside Kensington Palace to mark what would have been Diana’s 58th birthday.

Additional reporting by Danielle Stacey.

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