On what should have been one of happiest days of his life, Prince William was nearly sidelined by sad memories that threatened to steal some of his joy at the birth of his third child. But no matter how perfect everything seems on these heavenly occasions he is always visited by an overwhelming and unwelcome presence: the reminder that all is NOT perfect, not at all.

One of the most wonderful parts of welcoming a new baby into the family is informing beloved family members of the blissful news. Phoning your parents, the new grandparents, and sharing with them all the details and being able to count on an exultant response from the only people who just MIGHT love your children as much as you do.

Then imagine the bitter pangs of sadness that rise up in your heart when it suddenly dawns on you that you cannot share the news with the person who would love to hear it the most - your mum - and you never will be able to. It is an unimaginable pain to know that your children will never be able to know the love of their grandmother in a way that you had always hoped.

For the Duke of Cambridge, that moment exists only in his imagination, and it only serves to remind him that his mother, the beloved Princess Diana, is gone and has been gone for much too long.

All the best moments in life that you know your mother would love to be a part of - your wedding (she never got to meet Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge) and all the special events that followed, he will have to do without his.

Especially the births of the children, Prince George in 2013, Princess Charlotte in 2015, and now, this third bundle of joy who came into the world so recently. How sad it must be for William as he watches them grow, possibly seeing glimpses of his mother's face in theirs, or imagining what she might have had to say about this or that.

But more than anything else, missing out on witnessing the warm and loving relationship that Diana would most certainly have had with her three grandchildren.

In an eye-opening interview the Duke gave to GQ magazine almost exactly one year ago, he opened up for the first time about how he continues to miss his mother, even after 20 years have passed since her tragic death in that Paris tunnel.

The Telegraph reports, that the Duke of Cambridge "has spoken of how he wishes he could ask his late mother's advice today, disclosing his sadness that his own young family will never meet her."

Wistfully reminiscing upon his sweet but all too short time with his mum, Prince William shared that "stability at home is "˜so important' to his family, vowing to bring his children up outside palace walls, just as his mother tried to do with him."

Diana's older son also revealed that his grief had been "so raw," and combined with the pressures and scrutiny of being in the public eye, it had taken him nearly 20 years to become comfortable enough to even speak about that horrible time.

He recognizes that, after all this time, he is "in a better place about it than I have been for a long time, where I can talk about her more openly, talk about her more honestly, and I can remember her better, and publicly talk about her better."

He added: "It has taken me almost twenty years to get to that stage. I still find it difficult now because at the time it was so raw.

"And also it is not like most people's grief, because everyone else knows about it, everyone knows the story, everyone knows her."

How would Prince William's life be different if Diana had not perished in that horrific car crash? Besides the obvious, there is one thing that came to the forefront only after the Duke of Cambridge became a parent himself.

"I would like to have had her advice, " he told the magazine. "I would love her to have met Catherine and to have seen the children grow up. It makes me sad that she won't, that they will never know her."

But carry on, he must, a difficult lesson about Royal life that the young prince learned early on. Nevertheless, William vows to bring up his children in a way that would make his mother proud.

"I could not do my job without the stability of the family," the Duke said. "Stability at home is so important to me. I want to bring up my children in a happy, stable, secure world and that is so important to both of us as parents.

"I want George to grow up in a real, living environment, I don't want him growing up behind palace walls, he has to be out there.

"The media make it harder but I will fight for them to have a normal life."

I can only imagine what it must have been like to grow up without a mother, but Prince William and brother Prince Harry have had the unhappy reality of being forced to live it.

With the solid foundation the adored Princess Diana laid in them, however, we have no doubt that William will live up to the high standards his mother set for him. We wish him the best of everything as he takes on this next phase of life. We are so glad he has Duchess Catherine right by his side to take some of the sting out of not having his mother there to share it with.

Get out the tissues and enjoy this beautiful video of Prince William and Prince Harry's memories of their beloved mum, Princess Diana.

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