Afghanistan toll: Prince Harry shares words with army widow as he looks back on his grief after Princess Diana’s death

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex shared his sympathies with families bereaved by war. Photo / Getty Images

Prince Harry comforts an army widow as she recalls telling her son his father died at war, a moment that “shattered his world”.

The Duke of Sussex has reassured bereaved military families that they do not have to stay sad to prove how much they miss their loved one, in a tearful conversation with a widowed mother.

The Duke looked emotional during an on-screen conversation with Nikki Scott, the founder of Scotty’s Little Soldiers, one of his patronages, who told him of her experiences telling her two children that their father had been killed in Afghanistan.

Recalling his own experience of loss, after the death of his mother when he was 12, he empathised with the complicated reality of grief saying: “You convince yourself that the person you’ve lost wants you, or you need to be sad for as long as possible to prove to them that they are missed.

“But then there’s this realisation of, no they must want me to be happy.”

On the importance of children not suppressing their emotions, he added: “That’s the hardest thing, especially for kids, I think, which is, ‘I don’t want to talk about it because it will make me sad, but once realising if I do talk about it, and I’m celebrating their life, then actually, things become easier.’”

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The Duke is the global patron of the charity, which supports bereaved military children, and has pledged to do more to boost its profile and funding to help it support more families.

He filmed the 18-minute interview with Scott, whose husband, Corporal Lee Scott, served with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment and was killed aged 26 in Afghanistan in 2009, leaving his children, Brooke, then 6 months, and Kai, 5.

Harry attended the party for the children supported by Scotty’s Little Soldiers when he was in Britain in May.

The video, filmed then, is being released now ahead of Armed Forces Day.

Speaking with a hint of an American accent, saying “where do you wanna start?” and pronouncing Scotty “Scoddy”, the Prince asked questions as Scott spoke of her experience of telling her children their father had died, and how she had founded the charity to help other families.

“I’m welling up now,” she said, relaying how she had delivered the news to her son. “I literally shattered his world.” Wiping tears from her eyes, she added: “Sorry, I didn’t think I’d do this.”

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The Duke, who looked tearful himself with red-rimmed eyes, smiled and said: “You’re setting everybody else off as well.”

Scotty’s Little Soldiers supports more than 680 members and aims to increase that to more than 1000 young people annually by 2030.

Expressing his admiration for Scott’s work, Prince Harry said: “What you’ve done is incredible.

“It is truly inspirational. I’m really honoured and privileged to be part of Scotty’s now and I really look forward to us doing everything we can to bring in more people, more interest, raise more funds and be able to get the message out there to get more kids the support they so desperately need.”