DR MAX PEMBERTON: This is what King Charles can teach us all about how to grieve
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Tis the season to be jolly! But what if it isn’t the season to be jolly? What if you don’t feel jolly at all, because you’re grieving for someone who has died?. All the tinsel and good wishes can feel very hollow and empty, if you’re bereaved. It’s certainly true that when we’re grieving, some people can really step up and make all the difference. Running through grief like a gossamer thread is the sense of disconnection, yet a small kindness, a few words, a thoughtful gesture, can remind us that we are still connected to others.
![[Dr Max Pemberton (pictured) advises allowing a bereaved person to grieve on their own terms, and not turning your back on them]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/15/20/93173847-14195421-image-m-17_1734293738475.jpg)
Richard E. Grant has given a touching account of how King Charles visited his dying wife, dialect coach Joan Washington, days before she died of lung cancer in 2021. ‘Shortly before my wife died, Prince Charles came to visit her, sat in our garden, held her hands and talked about life as she contemplated her own death. Kindness, generosity, humour and compassion. Princely attributes fit for a King.’.
![[All the tinsel and good wishes can feel very hollow and empty, if you’re bereaved (stock image)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/15/20/93173913-14195421-image-a-16_1734293530181.jpg)
What a contrast to how others responded. Mr Grant has previously spoken about how, after Joan died, he lost friends as a result of how they reacted to his grief. Speaking at the Cheltenham Literary Festival last year, he said: ‘Subsequent to her death, I have had people cross the road rather than talk. Whether they think you’re going to fall apart and you’re an emotional wreck, I don’t know. But I will never speak to them again.’.
![[TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp (pictured) has complained of a ‘chest infection/lurgy’ unlike any she has had before]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/15/20/93173883-14195421-image-a-14_1734293437081.jpg)
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