When Crown Princess Mary told of the grief for her mother, she was so moved that she had to interrupt her speech and wipe away her tears.
Even after more than 20 years, the grief is so great that she can not stop herself.
– When I lost my mother, it felt like the world stopped, she has previously said.
Crown Princess Mary’s mother Henrietta Clark Donaldson died in 1997, just 55 years old, in connection with a heart operation.
The then 25-year-old Mary Donaldson had not yet met her future husband, Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik. It would not happen until the Sydney Olympics in September 2000.
Mary has written about how the loss of her mother changed her life.
– When I lost my mother, it felt like the world stopped. At the same time, everyone else’s lives continued. It was hard to accept that life just went on, and it made me feel alone with my grief, she said.
Supports association for young people
– When I look back on that period today, I think I would have felt good to open up more and let others participate in my grief. Maybe it would have been easier if I had noticed that my surroundings had been more open to talking about it.
On Thursday, Mary was the keynote speaker at the 20th anniversary of the organization Children, Youth & Grief – a non-profit association that she is part of and supports.
The association provides free counseling and psychological support to children and young people who have lost a close family member, or who live with seriously ill parents or siblings.
Broke down from the memories
Mary just talked about how survivors handle the grief of loved ones, when she was forced to interrupt. The last thing she said before she broke up was:
– Many survivors feel that they lose the entire existence they have had, and the person they were before the death. You can lose yourself in that grief …
Her voice trembled, her eyes turned red and filled with tears, and she had to take a few deep breaths to gather herself.
Had to ask for a handkerchief
Mary asked the organizers for a handkerchief, wiped her tears, and got back on track with her speech.
She writes on Facebook about the experience:
“It’s hard to explain what made me so moved in the podium. It was not so much about my own loss, but more about so many of us in the room having something special in common. We had all lost someone, and I could feel the common understanding that loss brings. It does not need words, it is just there. ”
Source: expressen.se
