Prince William Once Reached Out To Famous True Crime Survivors Who Looked To Him For Hope

William, Prince of Wales is a patron of various charities and organizations, with his projects ranging from secret missions to aid the homeless to animal conservation. But while we're used to him making an appearance at various events or using his platform to champion their causes, it's not often the prince reaches out directly to offer his support.

Journalist Kristy Wark has divulged that, after she interviewed Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus — two of the three women kidnapped and held against their will by Ariel Castro for 10 years in Cleveland, Ohio — in 2015 for BBC Newsnight, she was contacted by Prince William. "I received a letter from Prince William a week later, asking if he could write to the girls. That was great," Wark explained (via Daily Mail). The prince reportedly wanted to pen a personal missive to all three women who suffered at the hands of Castro: Berry, DeJesus, and Michelle Knight.

Fox News reports that neither Prince William's team nor Wark could be contacted to reveal if the letters were actually ever written and sent. However, we do know why William may have felt compelled to reach out to the women.

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During their BBC interview with journalist Kristy Wark, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus explained that during those extremely bleak years, they can recall one occasion that helped hearten them just a little. Berry revealed that she was allowed to watch the televised wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011. "It was like the biggest thing on all of the news channels, you know, and I loved watching the news to know what was going on in the world. I actually set my clock and got up at 6 a.m.," she said.

Berry added that amongst the horrors she experienced in Ariel Castro's house, the wedding was a brief bright spot of happiness. "They were getting married. And to see what her dress looked like and to see all the people there, it was just beautiful," she said.

Berry said that someday she hopes she can partake in these more normal parts of life, like "when you get married and start a family," she continued. When Wark commented on the Princess of Wales's wedding gown, Berry laughed, "I think it could have been a little fancier. She's a princess!"

Most likely, when Prince William heard from the interview that it was his nuptials that had made an impact in the women's darkest days, it was then he decided to reach out to Wark to see if there was a way he could write to Berry, DeJesus, and Knight.

We may just be finding out that Prince William wanted to reach out to Ariel Castro's survivors, but it has been over a decade since the women escaped in 2013. Since then, Amanda Berry has been trying to find the normalcy she spoke about in her 2015 interview with Kristy Wark. 

In 2023, she spoke about her experience to Fox 8 News. "It seems like yesterday, but it also seems like I've lived a good life in 10 years," she said. The mom of one has since gone on a cruise and even accepted a job with Cleveland's own Fox 8 News Channel. There, she hosts a segment titled "Missing," where she discusses missing persons cases while collaborating with local police departments. Berry admits, "I'm made for this. This is what I'm here for on this Earth."

Of course, she cherishes spending time with her family and friends, having missed out on these important personal connections for a decade during her harrowing ordeal. However, she has also found love of the romantic sort, stating that she is happily dating someone, something she didn't know would ever be possible.

Despite all the major steps Berry has taken since she escaped, she notes that maybe normalcy isn't what she should strive for, and she's okay with that. "You know, I know I'll never truly have a normal life and I'm kind of coming to grips with that. It's okay. As long as I make the best out of it that I can," she told Fox 8 News.