WATCH THE SHORT VIDEO HERE
In an emotionally charged conversation, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, provided comfort and support to Nikki Scott, founder of Scotty’s Little Soldiers, as she recounted the harrowing moment she had to tell her son that his father, Corporal Lee Scott, who served with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, had been killed in Afghanistan.
This poignant exchange can be seen in a video released by the charity in the lead-up to Armed Forces Day to highlight the ongoing needs of bereaved military children in the UK.
Prince Harry is the Global Ambassador of Scotty’s Little Soldiers, the charity for bereaved military children and young people. His emotional conversation with Nikki was filmed when he visited the UK and took part in a Scotty’s event, where he also surprised children and young people supported by the charity.
The Duke listened intently as Nikki recalled the day back in July 2009 when she was told of her husband’s death. She shared the agony of breaking the news to their five-year-old son, Kai, while also caring for their seven-month-old daughter, Brooke.
Nikki recounted:
“It was the worst. How do you tell a 5-year-old this. 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.’”
Overcome with emotion, Nikki described to Prince Harry the pain of “shattering her son’s world.” Nikki’s personal tragedy inspired her 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.
In their heartfelt discussion about grief, Prince Harry, whose mother Princess Diana died in 1997, when he was 12 years old, shared his own insights:
“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. But then there’s this realisation of, no they must want me to be happy.”
Nikki explained how Scotty’s Little Soldiers teaches bereaved military children and young people to celebrate their parent’s life. The Duke emphasised the importance of not suppressing emotions, particularly for children, saying:
“That’s the hardest thing, especially for kids, I think, which is, ‘I don’t want to talk about it because it will make me sad, but once realising if I do talk about it, and I’m celebrating their life, then actually, things become easier.’”
Expressing his admiration for Nikki’s work, Prince Harry remarked, “What you’ve done is incredible. 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.”
Watch the full video with Nikki and Prince Harry: https://www.scottyslittlesoldiers.co.uk/duke-and-nikki
When a young person joins Scotty’s, they become a member and are supported until their 25th birthday. Whether it be one-to-one bereavement support, a respite break with the family, an opportunity to meet others in a similar situation, or access to extracurricular activities, Scotty’s is always there for its members to ensure they don’t feel alone.
Scotty’s Little Soldiers currently supports over 680 members. Scotty’s estimates that each year 2,100 children are newly bereaved of parent who served in the British Armed Forces*. The charity wants to support these children and has a long-term goal of supporting over 1,000 young people annually by 2030.
