Prince Harry greets bereaved British Forces children in Santa suit
The children also received warm special Christmas greetings from well-known TV personalities Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield of the This Morning TV show on ITV.
By ZACHARY KEYSERPrince Harry dressed as Santa Clause(photo credit: SCOTTY’S LITTLE SOLDIERS)Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, sent a special message to the bereaved children of British Armed Forces members - while dressed-up as Santa - during a "magical" Christmas party aboard a boat on the River Thames, organized by the United Kingdom charity Scotty's Little Soldiers.The children also received warm special Christmas greetings from well-known TV personalities Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield of the This Morning TV show on ITV."Ho, ho, ho! Hi guys, everyone at Scotty's Little Soldiers, I hope you're having an amazing time. I hear there is 190 of you there this year, so please cause as much chaos as humanly possible. I also want to encourage you guys to look around and realized that you are part of a family, part of an amazing family and community, and that there is support there for you every single day should you need it," Prince Harry said."Having met some of you a few years ago, or most of you, I know how incredibly strong you are. Losing a parent is incredibly hard, but I know that every single one of you, by helping each other out, will have an amazing future ahead of you, and you're going to have a fantastic Christmas as well," he said, adding in conclusion, "The last thing from me is, your parents, they will never be forgotten, you will never be forgotten. I really hope, and I know that you will leave here today with a huge smile on your face, and for the younger ones of you are probably already covered in food as well. So have a fantastic Christmas, and a Happy New Year."The annual Christmas party serves not only as a special celebration for these children it also gives them the opportunity to meet those within the same situation - in the hopes to bond over the common ground and gain the notion that these children are not alone.Children from the ages of 4 to 18, hailing from all over the UK, traveled to London with their surviving parent in cooperation with The Rail Delivery Group."At breakfast time the kids were all given a newspaper reporting that the Queen’s precious jewels had been stolen. They were told they were being recruited by MI5 and were split into teams to undertake a special mission – to find the jewels. They were then taken down to the River Thames where they boarded the spectacular Dixie Queen boat," a statement by Scotty's Little Soldiers read."After setting sail, London’s famous Tower Bridge was opened especially for them and The Metropolitan police escorted them with a police boat to add to the excitement. The children then undertook various tasks and fun challenges to solve the mystery. Once the jewels had been found they were presented to a Queen lookalike at a festive after-party venue, where the children also met Father Christmas."Scotty's Little Soldiers was founded by war widow Nikki Scott in memory of her late husband Corporal Lee Scott, a father to two who was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. The charity provides support to children across the United Kingdom that have lost a parent who served in the British Forces.The charity includes support initiatives that focus around health and well-being, developmental opportunities, communication, confidence-building and most importantly "giving [the children] a chance to smile."“We’re so grateful to The Duke of Sussex for kindly recording a video message for the bereaved Forces children that attended the Scotty’s Little Soldiers Christmas party earlier this month," Scott said. "It can be a difficult time of year for these kids, so receiving a heartfelt message from Prince Harry really meant the world to them. The message was a surprise and the look on their faces was priceless. In the Christmas spirit, we thought we would share it here for all to enjoy!"Prince Harry, who served in the British Forces himself, lost his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997 at just twelve-years-old.Her graphic car accident and subsequent death was highly-publicized initially and would continue to be for weeks and even years to come.The prince admitted recently that her accident and sudden death brought about a serious issue of mental illness and depression he was forced to live with and finally recognized for what it is in recent years. Since then the British Royal Family has become a serious advocate for destigmatizing mental illness worldwide.
