MAKING THE MOST OF HIS TIME HOME AND JOINED BY HELLO! THE DUKE OF SUSSEX TEAMS UP WITH ED SHEERAN TO SALUTE WELLCHILD’S VALIANT YOUNGSTERS
It’s always an emotional night, but the winners of this year’s WellChild Awards, celebrating the inspirational qualities of the UK’s seriously ill children and young people, had an extra surprise when the Duke of Sussex joined forces with celebrities including singers Ed Sheeran and Anne-Marie at a private party also attended by hello!.
Fresh from isolating after jetting back to the UK for the unveiling of a statue of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince Harry was relaxed and in good spirits as he met the remarkable youngsters being honoured and the healthcare workers who care for them.
And he was only too happy to swap parenting notes with fellow new dad Ed, whose daughter Lyra
Antarctica was born last summer. Ed told the Duke: “Congratulations – a girl, right? We just had a little girl ten months ago. You’re still in the trenches now. How do you manage with two?”
“Two is definitely a juggle,” replied
Harry, whose daughter Lilibet Diana – named in tribute to the Queen and his mother – arrived on 4 June, joining two-year-old Archie.
Harry spoke more about his baby girl to another guest, saying: “We’ve been lucky so far. She’s very chilled and seems happy to sit there while Archie is running around like crazy.”
Dressed in a pale blue sweater and dark trousers, the Duke was delighted to be at the socially distanced afternoon tea at London’s Kew Gardens, where tables were decorated with balloons in the charity’s purple and orange colours under a sail tent that contained giantsized Connect 4 and Lego sets.
Joining the VIP guests were Rolling Stones star Ronnie Wood and his wife Sally, TV and radio star Amanda Holden, dancer AJ Pritchard and his girlfriend Abbie Quinnen and hello! editor in chief Rosie Nixon, a member of the awards’ judging panel.
Speaking to hello!, Ronnie, himself the father of two young
‘The Duke was very excited to be able to be there in person’
daughters, said: “What an honour to be a part of today’s celebrations. I’m in awe of the work WellChild do and it was great to celebrate these young heroes and brilliant to see the Duke spending so much time with the true stars of the show.”
His wife Sally agreed. “Prince Harry was naturally brilliant and incredibly inspiring with all the children,” she told us. “It was a wonderful afternoon.”
Harry, who arrived in the UK on 26 June, had isolated at his Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor for five days ahead of the event.
“He was very excited to be able to be there in person,” a source tells hello!. “WellChild has been one of the charities he’s supported for so long and it means a lot to him, perhaps more so now than ever since he’s become a father himself.”
Harry echoed this in his own message to winners, telling them: “Since becoming patron of WellChild in 2007, this organisation and the people within it have held an extraordinarily special
place in my heart. I wasn’t a father at the time and yet the stories of these children and parents transcended that. I didn’t need to be a dad to feel the impact of this invaluable work.
“Now, as a father of two, I feel all the more connected, inspired and in awe of the resilience of these families who power through indescribable challenges with the support of WellChild.”
He continued: “The health of our children – of all of us – could not have been more on the forefront of our minds during the past year and throughout this time, the WellChild community has set an example for how to show up and act with compassion for each other.
“I could not be prouder to be here, to meet this year’s WellChild Award winners, to thank the nurses and doctors for all they do and to celebrate these amazing families.”
WINNING ACT
Harry spent around two hours meeting each of the winners to congratulate them and there was plenty of laughter and emotion along the way.
Chatting to Carmela ChilleryWatson, who won the Inspirational Child 4-6 Years Award, the Duke talked about his grandfather the Duke of Edinburgh, who
‘Harry was naturally brilliant and incredibly inspiring with the children’
was patron of the charity, after the little girl’s dad Darren passed on his condolences.
Thanking him, Harry said: “He had a great innings. He was 99 and he was adamant that he never wanted to live to 100.”
For the first eight months of the pandemic, Carmela stayed at home with her mum Lucy while Darren, a courier delivering PPE and Covid samples for the NHS, slept in his van or in the garden shed to protect her.
“Aren’t they amazing?” the Duke asked the seven-year-old girl, who raised more than £50,000 for Muscular Dystrophy UK through a variety of challenges in lockdown. “Well done to you, too, for being so amazing,” he added.
“To say we are proud of her is an understatement,” said her mum.
Daughter Lili was once more in Harry’s mind as he chatted to 11-year-old Harvey Eustace, who has autism and ADHD. He was
‘He was saying Lili is lovely. He was so down to earth. It was really nice to see him back here’
receiving a Special Recognition Award for creating a memory garden for his local community for people to go and reflect on those they have lost during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“He was saying the baby is lovely,” said Harvey’s mum, Steph Freeman. “He was so down to earth. It was really nice to see him back here.”
MILITARY RIVALRY
There was also was laughter as former army captain Harry jokingly turned his back on Harvey’s dad Mark when he said he was in the Royal Air Force.
“People like yourself fly the aircraft, break them and we fix them again,” the aircraft engineer told him, saying later: “I think [the Duke] enjoyed the banter.”
As well as honouring the winners, Harry himself took home a gift from 18- year- old Special Recognition Award winner Rhea Talwar, who has cerebral palsy and faces life-threatening health crises every day.
Her mother Purabi Lakhani gave the Duke a framed print made from Rhea’s fingerprints of four owls in a tree, representing him, the Duchess and their two young children.
With his keen interest in the mental health of young people, Harry was impressed
to hear how Anzah Arwani, winner of the Inspirational Child 7-11 Years, overcame anxiety attacks to address an audience of 100 people.
“You are amazing,” he said. “You’ve achieved so much.”
Anzah’s mum Naureen said: “He was telling her to always speak up, always fight, don’t keep it inside and to take her time.”
The Duke then swapped notes on his pet dogs Guy and Pula with 13-year-old William Cuthill, winner of the Inspirational Young Person 12-14 Years award and the owner of a miniature dachshund Coco and a black labrador, like Pula.
“He was telling me about his dogs and asking about mine,” said the youngster, who has juvenile idiopathic arthritis. “I feel very privileged to be here,” he added.
‘It was amazing to meet Ed Sheeran and now Prince Harry — I’m speechless’
JOKER OF THE PACK
Luke Fisher, winner of the Inspirational Young Person 15-18 Years Award, had Harry in stitches as he told the Duke he’d kept him waiting before quizzing him on his favourite sport – “Probably rugby,” said Harry – and whether he knew the contact team sport kabaddi.
“Luke is very direct,” said his mum Lowri, laughing. “He told Ed Sheeran he should be making more grime music with Stormzy and he promised he would.
“Him winning this is a massive achievement,” she added.
Inspirational Nurse Becky Bedford, who was honoured for her Covid-19 campaign to get young patients who need medical interventions back into school, was left without words after her encounter with the Duke. “I’m still shaking,” she said. “It was amazing to meet Ed
Sheeran earlier and now Prince Harry – I’m speechless.
“I chatted with Ed about the football last night and he asked me did I think it was coming home so I said yes,” she added. “It was an incredible moment and I’m very grateful to be here.”
This was Harry’s first WellChild awards since October 2019, when he broke down in tears as he paid tribute to the winners for the first time since becoming a father himself.
Last year’s event could not take place because of the pandemic, which has created huge challenges for many of the vulnerable children, young people and families supported by WellChild, something the Duke discussed with their families after taking a group photo with the winners.
WellChild chief executive Colin Dyer was delighted with how well the night had gone. “The looks on the winners’ faces when they’re meeting their heroes is just heartwarming,” he told hello!. “It’s the most emotional WellChild Awards I’ve ever seen in ten years.”
The Duke’s appearance “just makes the event ten times more special”, he added.
hello! editor in chief Rosie was also delighted to enjoy a conversation with the Duke at the event.
“This is Prince Harry doing what he does best,” she said. “He gets down to the same level as the children, shares jokes and always finds the right words to inspire them. He is very much his late mother’s son.
“I hope it’s not too long before we see him again.”
‘As a father of two, I feel all the more inspired and in awe of the resilience of these families’ Prince Harry