Prince William and Prince Harry receive sad news as they mourn the loss of a family member

Prince William and Prince Harry have received sad news. The two Dukes are mourning the loss of family member.

• Prince William and Prince Harry have received sad news after learning that a family member has passed away.
• The Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex are mourning the loss of a family member from their mother Princess Diana’s side of the family.
• In other royal news (opens in new tab), a royal expert has warned that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s move away from the UK could pose risk to baby Archie.

Prince William and Prince Harry have received sad news after the loss of a family member.

The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex are mourning the loss of a family member who was on their mother Princess Diana’s side of the extended family.

The Princes great-aunt Lady Anne Wake-Walker has passed away, with the loss being announced on Twitter.

MORE: The real story behind Princess Diana’s wedding dress (opens in new tab)

Lady Anne was the sister of the Dukes’ late maternal grandfather John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, who was Princess Diana’s father.

The news was announced by Princes William and Harry’s uncle Charles Spencer, who is the younger brother of their late mother.

Confirming the news on Twitter, Charles, 9th Earl Spencer, paid tribute to his aunt by sharing a photo of a flag at half-mast at his home, Althorp House.

‘The Spencer flag at half-mast at @AlthorpHouse today,’  he wrote, ‘marking the death of my father’s older sister (& only sibling) Anne, aged 99 1/2.

‘An officer in the WRENS in World War 2, she was the mother of 3 sons and 2 daughters. Lady Anne Wake-Walker (née Spencer), 1920-2020’.

Charles also paid tribute sharing a photo of his aunt as a child, writing, ‘Aunt Anne and my father, playing at @althorphouse in 1925.

‘A wonderful lady, she was an officer in the WRENS in the Second World War, and was a much loved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother - as well as sister and aunt, of course.

‘Aunt Anne died last night, aged 99 1/2. “The end of an era” is the phrase I’ve heard repeatedly today. Indeed it is’.

Our thoughts are with Prince William, Prince Harry and the rest of their family.