In a heartfelt video, Prince Harry spoke candidly about how he navigated his way through grief as a child after the tragic passing of his mother, Princess Diana. It's a conversation that resonates deeply with anyone who has ever faced loss.
At 39, Harry joined Nikki Scott, the founder of Scotty’s Little Soldiers and a widowed mother of two, for an intimate discussion about supporting the children of military members who are dealing with grief. This conversation was a poignant reminder of the strength it takes to overcome such challenges.
Harry's Emotional Connection with Nikki Scott
“What you’ve done is truly incredible,” Harry said to Nikki during their talk, which took place on June 27. “It’s not just an empty word; it’s genuinely inspirational. Watching the kids here, you can see they’re still processing their grief, but the community of support you’ve built around them is everything. It’s absolutely amazing.”
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Nikki shared her deeply personal story of how her husband, Corporal Lee Scott, lost his life while serving in Afghanistan back in 2009. Her words painted a vivid picture of the heartbreak involved in delivering such devastating news to young children.
“It was the worst possible thing to have to do,” Nikki recalled. “How do you tell a 5-year-old something like this? I shattered his entire world right there. He knew instantly that life would never be the same again.”
Harry's Personal Reflection on Grief
Harry praised Nikki for handling the situation as best as she could, and then opened up about his own experiences with grief, visibly moved by the memories.
“You convince yourself that the person you’ve lost wants you to be sad for as long as possible, to prove to them that they’re missed,” Harry explained. “But then comes this realization that no, they must want me to be happy. It’s a shift that can take years to fully grasp.”
As Nikki broke down in tears, Harry, who served for 10 years in the British Army, offered her his unwavering support.
“That’s the hardest part, especially for kids,” Harry, author of Spare, said. “The idea that ‘I don’t want to talk about it because it will make me sad’ often keeps them from opening up. But once you realize that talking about it and celebrating their life actually makes things easier, it changes everything. Suppressing emotions can only last so long before it starts to eat away at you from the inside.”
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Harry's Struggles After Diana's Death
Harry was only 12 when his mother tragically passed away in a car accident at the age of 36 in Paris. For years, he struggled to accept her death, finding it hard to come to terms with the reality.
“For a long time, I just couldn’t accept that she was gone,” Harry confessed to Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes in January 2023. “Part of me thought she would never do this to us. Another part of me believed it was all part of some grand plan. For a while, I held on to the hope that she was still alive and would call us, and we’d go join her.”
Harry, the founder of the Invictus Games, revealed that he was constantly searching for proof that Diana was involved in the car crash that claimed her life.
“I was looking for proof that she was in the car, that she was injured, and that the very paparazzi who chased her into the tunnel were taking photos of her lying there, barely alive,” he explained. “The pictures showed the reflection of photographers taking photos through the window, capturing that moment.”
Looking back, Harry is grateful for his advisor, who stopped him from seeing the more graphic photos from the scene of the accident. He realized that he held on to the belief that Diana was still alive until he was 23.
“All I could see was the back of my mom’s head slumped on the back seat,” Harry said. “I will always be grateful to him for stopping me from inflicting further pain on myself by seeing those images. Because once you see something like that, it stays with you forever.”
