Prince Harry spoke of how difficult the holiday season can be for military families. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry spoke of how difficult the holiday season can be for military families. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry has made a virtual cameo to deliver a heartfelt message to hundreds of children who have lost a parent in the armed forces.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, popped up via video link at a Christmas party hosted by Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a UK-based charity for which he’s a global ambassador and is heavily involved.
The US-based royal spoke about his own Christmas memories before taking part in a Q&A with the young people, where he acknowledged that the season is particularly challenging for “military families who have lost someone on active duty”.
“It’s okay to feel however you feel at Christmas,” Harry said.
“Some people will be celebrating and happy, other people feel reflective, some people will be sad, and maybe you’ll experience every single one of these emotions and that’s absolutely fine.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle called for donations to Scotty's Little Soldiers rather than gifts when they got married in 2018. Photo / Getty Images
“Remember you’ve got each other, you’ve got Scotty’s and you’ve got the people that love you.”
Scotty’s Little Soldiers was founded by war widow Nikki Scott in 2010 after Corporal Lee Scott, her husband and the father to her two children, was killed in duty in Afghanistan in 2009.
In 2018, Harry – who has been a longtime supporter – and his then-fiancee, Meghan Markle, nominated the organisation as one of a handful of charities for people to donate to rather than give wedding gifts.
He also encouraged donations in honour of his first Father’s Day the following year.
Harry’s latest initiative with Scotty’s Little Soldiers comes just weeks after he penned an emotional letter about “heartache” to young members of the charity, reflecting on his own personal experience of losing a parent.
He wrote that he understood “perhaps more than most, the weight of losing a parent at a young age”, referencing the death of his mother, the late Princess Diana, in 1997 when he was just 12 years old.
“It can be overwhelming and isolating. Yet, in the midst of that heartache, we find strength in the love and memories left behind, and I have seen how communities like yours can offer deep comfort and healing,” Harry explained, before acknowledging the emotional impact Britain’s Remembrance Day may have.
“In coming together to support one another, you not only honour the memories of your loved ones but also forge bonds that can and will carry you through the toughest times,” Harry said. “The tears and laughter, the shared experiences, and the moments of joy you create together are powerful reminders that love endures.”
“We’ve apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well. So it’s just like, what?’”
Harry added that he felt “sorry” for the online “trolls”.
“It’s hard to keep up with, but that’s why you just sort of ignore it. The people I feel most sorry about are the trolls,” Harry said.
“Their hopes are just built and built, and it’s like, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,’ and then it doesn’t happen. So I feel sorry for them. Genuinely, I do.”
