William & Kate Shared How George, Charlotte, & Louis Are Coping With Queen’s Loss

September was always going to be a month of adjustment for the Wales children. After moving to Windsor, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4, started at a new school on Sept. 8. What was unexpected, however, was the death of Queen Elizabeth II, their great-grandmother, on the evening of Sept. 8. Luckily, the kids are doing “OK,” as their parents recently assured well-wishers while greeting the public.

William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, are apparently doing their best to provide normalcy amid the period of grief and transition for the young royals. “They’re settling in,” William told a supporter who posted video of their interaction on Twitter on Sept. 15. “We’re trying to keep everything constant and settled for them.”

Separately, Kate told well-wishers George, Charlotte, and Louis were doing “OK,” per Twitter footage, adding that “they’re in school, being well looked after.” The duchess described them as being “in a routine” and “happy.” She also indicated they’ve been able to make “new friends.”

Before the Waleses’ recent move from Kensington Palace to Adelaide Cottage, George and Charlotte went to Thomas’s Battersea Preparatory School, while Louis attended Willcocks Nursery School. Now the three siblings are all students at the Lambrook School. Ahead of their first day of school, William and Kate brought them for a “settling in afternoon,” just before the queen’s health took a turn.

The Wales children have continued going to school as their parents and other members of the royal family join the public in mourning the queen. The late monarch’s four children, including now-King Charles III, and eight grandchildren have been participating in walkabouts, processions, services, and her lying-in-state, with more events still to come. Amid it all, the Prince and Princess of Wales shared how special it has been to feel the public’s support in a Sept. 17 Instagram post. “It means an awful lot that you’re all here,” the caption read, alongside two photos of William greeting crowds of mourners.

Though the kids have been busy with school, Louis’ words were able to provide comfort to some people. On Sept. 10, Kate recounted how he consoled her while speaking with an emotional supporter outside Windsor Castle. “My little Louis is just so sweet. He said, ‘Mummy, don’t worry because she is now with Great-Grandpa,’” she said, per Hello! magazine.

In William’s tribute to his grandmother, he shared what a special role she had in his life and his wife and children’s. “My wife has had twenty years of her guidance and support,” he said, in part, in a statement on Sept. 10. “My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives.”

Before concluding, he added, “My grandmother famously said that grief was the price we pay for love. All of the sadness we will feel in the coming weeks will be testament to the love we felt for our extraordinary Queen.”