Prince William’s reaction to watching old videos of Princess Diana went viral on TikTok, as one fan said: “The eyes say it all.”

The Prince of Wales’ accelerated blinking was visible as he watched the archive footage for the 2013 CNN special Prince William’s Passion: New Father, New Hope.

A clip was newly shared on TikTok where it went viral after being liked 97k times and viewed 1.8 million times.

The edit began with William watching film of Diana’s charity work in Africa, before cutting to family footage of her with the prince when he was a child.

Why It Matters

Princess Diana is credited with introducing a more empathetic, emotional version of royalty, which has helped shape both William and Prince Harry’s own royal careers.

In fact, moments later in the CNN documentary, William talked about the impact she had: “She’d come back with all these stories and full of excitement and just passion for what she’d been doing and I sort of used to sit there as quite a sort of you know surprised little boy at the time sort of taking it all in.

“I never realized quite how much of an impact she had. You can feel and see when she’s talking and visiting that she really, really connects and cares about what she’s doing.

“I applaud her for all her dedication and her drive in doing that and it was I think that infectious enthusiasm and the energy that she had that really rubbed off on me for causes such as this.”

What to Know

William and Harry lost their mother when they were aged 15 and 12 in August 1997 when she died in a Paris car crash.

Charles and Diana had been separated for five years at the time and divorced for one year, though in reality the princess previously said their relationship disintegrated after Harry’s birth in 1984.

Diana’s story has been brought back to life for a new audience in recent years, including through the final three seasons of The Crown, played first by Emma Corrin and later by Elizabeth Debicki.

Spencer also saw Kristen Stewart recreate Diana’s story using the stylized tropes of the horror genre.

What People Are Saying

One TikTok fan replied: “You just know she would’ve been the most fun nan to their children.”

Another said: “He misses her so much,” while a third replied: “The eyes say it all.”

A fourth fan wrote: “I weep every time I see anything about her, wonderful lady robbed of being a mother and a true queen.”

What Happens Next

Prince William has continued to keep Diana’s message alive through working on the same projects, including homelessness in the U.K.

Diana took William to shelter The Passage, in London, in 1993 and he still works with the charity today, setting the lofty goal of ending homelessness via his Homewards initiative.

The prince has previously said in a message to the organization: “Over the many years that I have visited The Passage, first with my mother when I was just a small boy, I have developed a great affection for you all.

I am always so impressed to see and hear the difference that The Passage makes to the lives of people who are experiencing homelessness.”

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.