Prince Harry offers children poignant advice on grief and bereavement

27 June 2024 , 06:19

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Prince Harry urged agroup of bereaved militarychildren not to suppresstheir grief (Image: Getty Images)

Prince Harry has urged a group of bereaved military children not to suppress their grief as it would eat away at them eventually.

The Duke of Sussex, 39, discussed coping with loss with Nikki Scott, founder of Armed Forces charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers. During the 20th anniversary year of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, he revealed in a newspaper interview he spent nearly 20 years “not thinking” about his mother’s death and eventually got help after two years of “total chaos”.

Speaking after he joined 50 children for a session of fun activities hosted by Scotty’s in May, Harry told the charity boss about his pep talk to them. He said: “If you suppress this for too long, you can’t suppress it forever, it’s not sustainable, it will eat away at you inside.”

When she highlighted the importance of a bereaved child celebrating their parent’s life, he replied it was hard for a youngster whose mindset was, ‘I don’t want to talk about it because it makes me sad’.

Harry, who is Scotty’s global ambassador, added: “But ­realising if I do talk about it, and I’m celebrating their life, then things become easier." Listen to Harry’s chat on Scotty’s Little Soldiers website.

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Duke of Sussex said it was hard to grieve his mother (Getty Images)

Diana, Princess of Wales, is pictured with Prince Harry on holiday in Majorca, Spain in 1987 (Getty Images)

Princess Anne, meanwhile, is “recovering slowly” after she was struck by a horse, her husband has said. Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence visited his wife yesterday following her third night in hospital. Sir Tim emerged from Southmead Hospital in Bristol just before 2pm yesterday after spending two-and-a-half hours with the King’s sister, 73. Asked whether she would be discharged the same day, he said: “She’ll be out when she’s ready.”

Anne has been in since Sunday evening after she suffered concussion and minor head injuries when she was struck by a horse while walking on her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire.

It appears the Princess either blacked out or was caught unawares after being hit by a horse’s head or hind legs. Anne was due to fly to Canada this Sunday for a royal visit but the trip has been postponed on doctors’ advice as she will not be able to fly. She is likely to remain in hospital for the rest of the week.

Russell Myers