Christmas and the holiday season is such a fun time for many, but it also comes with challenges and hardships for those of us who have lost loved ones. Prince Harry is keenly aware of the dual feelings that can arise during the holiday season, and he recently filmed a surprise holiday greeting for children of fallen soldiers in the UK.
In a video recorded for the charity Scotty's Little Soldiers, Prince Harry is dressed fully as Santa Claus — white beard and all! Harry says, "Ho, ho, ho, hi guys! I hope you're having an amazing time. I hear there's 190 of you there this year, so please cause as much chaos as humanly possible."
He then shifts gears and addresses the more serious nature of the organization. "I also want you to look around and realize that you're a part of a family, part of an amazing community and that there's support there for you every single day, should you need it."
In the video, Harry goes on to say, "Yes, losing a parent is incredibly hard, but I know that every single one of you, by helping each other out, that you will have an amazing future ahead of you and you're going to have an amazing Christmas as well."
He also assures the children that their parents will never be forgotten. The children also received video messages from TV personalities Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, and the charity's site says, "Whilst the focus of the party was creating a fun, memorable experience, all activities were designed with childcare professionals to encourage wellbeing, confidence, communication and team-working – areas of identified challenge."
Scotty's Little Soldiers was founded by Nikki Scott, a war widow. The charity provides support to children "across the UK who have lost a parent who served in the British Armed Forces. The charity was set up in memory of Nikki’s husband and father to her two children, Corporal Lee Scott, after he was killed in Afghanistan in 2009."
The charity has a Christmas party each year, and they always try to make it special for the kids. This year, children between the ages of 4 and 18 and their surviving parent traveled to London from all over the United Kingdom. They spent the night in the city before the party.
The games began after breakfast. The children were given an article that said the Queen's jewels had been stolen, and that they had each been recruited by MI5 to find the jewels. They boarded the Dixie Queen boat and sailed down the River Thames. The Tower Bridge was opened, and the police escorted them by police boat. The children had to solve a multitude of challenges, and they ultimately presented the recovered jewels to a Queen lookalike.
Meanwhile, reports have surfaced that not everyone in the royal family is pleased with Prince Harry and Meghan's Markle decision to take six weeks off right at the holidays. A royal insider has told Entertainment Tonight that, "Some members of the family think the couple should have considered Queen and Prince Philip’s advancing age."
Seeing as Prince Philip was admitted to King Edward VII's Hospital only this morning, it's fair to say the source might have a point. Both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are advancing in years, and they likely wanted to see Archie experience his first Christmas. However, it's also fair to say that Meghan's mother, Doria, deserves to experience Archie in his first holiday season as much as Queen Elizabeth and Philip do.
