Prince Harrynow shares a new bond with his late mother,Princess Diana: the joy of parenthood.

Diana, who died in a Paris car crash when Harry was just 12, will never get to meet her grandsonArchie– and a royal household source tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story that her absence means “there will be a gap from Harry’s point of view.”

“It’s very sad that poor Diana isn’t here to see her children getting married and now have babies. And it is so sad for him that she isn’t here too,” adds a close friend of Diana’s. “Life is so precarious.”

“I told Harry about my mother and we talked about our shared experience of missing a mom,” van der Stroom said. “He said missing a mother is like missing some kind of security, how you need that as a son and it falls away when you lose your mother. He said he meets a lot of people in his work who have lost a mother, father, sister, brother or relatives and when he hears their story, as he heard my story, he said he doesn’t feel so alone.”

Tim Graham/Getty; Dominic Lipinski/Getty

prince harry and princess Diana

Tim Graham/Getty

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“Paying tribute to all mothers today – past, present, mothers-to-be, and those lost but forever remembered. We honor and celebrate each and every one of you,” the caption read.

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Archie’s maternal grandmother, Meghan’s mom Doria Ragland, has been staying with the couple during their first days as parents. Doria appeared in apoignant photothat showed Prince Philip andQueen Elizabethmeeting their new great-grandchild for the first time.

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Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor

Having Doria for support through any first-time parenting nerves has been a big help for Meghan.

“Harry really gets on well with her too,” a source says. “Any new mom wants her own mom around at this time, so it’s great.”

source: people.com