The Duke of Cambridge pays touching tribute to Princess Diana

The Duke of Cambridge has paid tribute to his late mother in latest royal engagement.

• Prince William visited the Chelsea Wing at the Royal Marsden in Sutton and met with patients to discuss how clinical trials have 'transformed their lives'
• His mother, Princess Diana, went there 30 years ago and laid a ceremonial foundation stone to commemorate the building of the Chelsea Wing
• It follows royal news that Sophie Wessex and family are the most likely royals to spend Christmas with the Queen

Prince William has been following in his mother's footsteps with his charitable nature for years. But a royal engagement he undertook this week had a particularly special meaning to the Duke.

William, 38, visited the Chelsea Wing of the Royal Marsden in Sutton to meet with patients who received treatment during the global pandemic.

His late mother, Princess Diana - who tragically died in a car accident in 1997 - commemorated the opening of the Chelsea Wing thirty years ago.

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The Duke shared a special picture of his mother - dressed in polka dots and sporting a hard hat - on the Kensington Royal Instagram account and documented the connection between the two royal engagements, just thirty years apart.

The caption read, "30 years after Diana, Princess of Wales, laid a ceremonial foundation stone to commemorate the building of the Chelsea Wing at the @royalmarsdenin Chelsea, Prince William visited The Royal Marsden in Sutton to mark the start of construction for the Trust’s Oak Cancer Centre.

"As part of the visit today, Prince William met a small number of patients, and heard how clinical trials at The Royal Marsden have transformed their lives, and about their experiences of receiving treatment during the pandemic.

The Royal Marsden opened its doors in 1851 as the world’s first hospital dedicated to cancer diagnosis, treatment, research and education.

Today, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre specialising in cancer diagnosis, treatment, research and education with its two hospitals at Chelsea and Sutton."

It's not the first time her sons have paid tribute to their mother this year, after Prince Harry delivered a heartbreaking speech on behalf of himself and Prince William in honour of the Princess of Wales' birthday.

The Duke of Sussex spoke about racism in a moving speech he made to those who received a Diana Award this year.

"I am so incredibly proud to be part of these awards as they honour the legacy of my mother and bring out the very best in people like you,” said Harry in his moving speech.

“I know that my mother has been an inspiration to many of you and I can assure you she would have been fighting your corner. Like many of you, she never took the easy route, she never took the popular one, or the comfortable one. But she stood for something. And she stood up for people who needed it.”