How Prince William Just Kept His Promise To A Young Fan

The royal family could use a genuinely feel-good moment right about now, and luckily Prince William is here to deliver in the sweetest way. The Duke of Cambridge isn't known for creating controversies (at least not without his brother Prince Harry), but he is not known for opening up emotionally in public either. It is apparently poor royal form to get too personal with the populace. There is one exception, though. The only times Prince William has ever been known to share real feelings is when he's talking about his mother, Princess Diana, and how her death when he was still a teenager has impacted him — like describing his "saddest memory" in a speech, per BBC. 

Well, on a charitable visit to Church on the Street, which provides aid to people experiencing poverty, William met an 11-year-old boy who also lost his mother too young, according to People. Realizing that they shared that tragic experience, William made a promise to the boy, whose name is Deacon, and now has proven to be a man of his word. What a prince!

When visiting Church on the Street with his wife Kate Middleton, Prince William was introduced to 11-year-old Deacon, who was wearing a Nick Pope soccer jersey, according to People. At one point during the visit — and seriously, we're getting choked up just talking about it — William leaned over and asked the boy, "Would you like to see Nick Pope? Yeah? We'll see what we can do." Pope is goalkeeper for Premiere League club Burnley, and apparently a very big deal. At least, he definitely is for Deacon. Prince William came through on his promise, and set up the meeting between Deacon and Pope before Burnley's match against Liverpool, People reported.

Pope, apparently quite a prince of a guy himself, gave Deacon his own goalie gloves from the match as well as the jersey he wore, which he signed with the message, "Never give up," according to the Burnley Express. Pope even gave Deacon a personal tour of the turf and showed him the goal nets. Deacon and his whole family got to watch the match from the director's box, where they were provided with snacks and drinks. Deacon's great-grandmother Carole Ellis said, "It was such a wonderful moment for Deacon and seeing his face when he met Nick Pope was just wonderful. I had a real lump in my throat."

And now so do we.