Prince Harry comforted the founder of a Lynn-based charity as she shared the moment she told her son his dad had been killed in Afghanistan.
The Duke of Sussex, sat with Nikki Scott, founder of Scotty’s Little Soldiers, as part of a video released by the organisation in the run-up to Armed Forces Day.
As the global ambassador of the charity, Prince Harry took part in a Scotty’s event, where he surprised children and young people who are supported by it.
Nikki recalled the day back in July 2009 when she was told of her husband’s death
“It was the worst, how do you tell a five-year-old this?” she said.
“I took him up and sat him on the bed and I said, ‘Kai, do you remember where Daddy was?’ and he said, ‘yeah, Afghan’, and I said, ‘something really bad has happened and the baddies (because he used to play army) have hurt dad and he’s died.’”
The personal tragedy inspired Nikki to create Scotty’s Little Soldiers after seeing the positive impact a family holiday had on Kai.
She wanted other bereaved military children to have the opportunity to smile again, and she founded the charity in 2010.
Prince Harry, whose mother Princess Diana died in 1997 when he was 12 years old, said: “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.”
Scotty’s Little Soldiers currently supports more than 680 members and estimates that each year 2,100 children are newly bereaved of parents who served in the British Armed Forces.
The charity supports these children until their 25th birthday with one-to-one bereavement support, respite breaks with their families, meetings with others in a similar situation and access to extracurricular activities.
“What you’ve done is incredible,” Harry added.
“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.”
