So who made Kate beam with pride?
Five years after their dad was killed by the Taliban, three little children and their proud mum join hundreds honoured at Buckingham Palace party – and get to meet their Prince
HE’S BEEN a frontline fighter and, on occasion, a clown prince. But yesterday, when duty truly called, Prince Harry was simply a best friend to children who have had no choice but to be brave.
Jayden and Jamie Davidson lost their father, Sergeant Lee Davidson of the Light Dragoons, to a Taliban bomb in Afghanistan five years ago.
Their mother Samantha was so shocked by his loss that their little sister Amelia, with whom she was heavily pregnant at the time, was born with nearwhite streaks in her hair.
Yesterday, however, on what would have been Sgt Davidson’s birthday, the family proudly attended a party at Buckingham Palace – hosted by Afghan veteran Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – for 800 children whose fathers had fallen in battle.
And it’s clear from the heartwarming picture, top right, of Harry surprising Jayden, eight, and Jamie, six, by crouching for a face-to-face chat, just how much the Royal recognition meant.
The Prince’s big grin and infectious sense of fun ensured the party went with a swing. On the Palace’s manicured lawns, children chased bubbles, made balloon animals, ate ice creams and played circus-themed games against the majestic backdrop of the Queen’s London home. As the Duchess of Cambridge larked around with a giant catapult that fired a water-filled balloon, Harry told the crowd: ‘I can assure you that the Buckingham Palace gardens have not seen this much fun, ever.’ But his lighthearted words gave way to a more solemn message as he publicly acknowledged the individual tragedies of the bereaved children and their parents. He told them: ‘We’re here to celebrate you and to remind you that we as a family, we as a nation, and we up and down the country, will never ever forget about the sacrifices that every single one of you have made. ‘The three of us, the whole of our family and the whole of this nation, thank you so, so much for everything you have done.’
For Samantha, 30, that meant giving birth to a daughter who would never meet her father and then raising three children alone.
Amelia, now aged four, was christened on Father’s Day 2013 in the South Yorkshire church where her parents had married.
Flowers from the christening were then placed on Sgt Davidson’s grave by Jamie and Jayden.
Samantha said: ‘I told the children that a nasty mister had put a bomb under Daddy’s tank. Daddy died and now he’s an angel. They didn’t really get it. We had the same conversation many times, and little by little they understood what had happened. But they both say how much they miss their Daddy and wish he was coming home.’
Also among the guests at the Palace yesterday were Rebecca Rigby and her son Jack, whose father Fusilier Lee Rigby was killed by two Islamic extremists outside Woolwich Barracks in South-East London in 2013.
Like the Davidson family, they have been supported by the military charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers, which organised yesterday’s event.
The charity, set up to help the bereaved children of Service personnel, was started by Nikki Scott, whose husband Corporal Lee Scott died in Afghanistan in 2009.
Jayden said: ‘I am really grateful to Harry, William and Kate for having the party and inviting me.
‘That it was my Daddy’s birthday makes it extra special. And my little sister is happy because she really wanted to meet a real-life Princess. We had great fun. They were very nice.’
Which just goes to show, the biggest heroes aren’t always fully grown.