Prince Harry begins about the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a preface to a new book created for children who lost a parent to COVID-19. Harry, who was 12 at the time of his mother’s death, wrote that despite the ‘hole’ a parent loses, the memories of it live on forever.
The book ‘Hospital by the Hill’ tells the story of a child whose mother died of COVID-19 while working on the front lines of the pandemic. The book has been made available free of charge to children in the United Kingdom.
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“When I was a young boy, I lost my mother. I did not want to believe or accept it at the time, and it left a big hole inside me,” Prince Harry wrote. “I know how you feel and I want to assure you that the hole will eventually be filled with so much love and support … when a parent goes to heaven, my spirituality, love and memories are told to them Do not.”
“They are always with you and you can hold them forever.”
Diana, Princess of Wales, died from injuries sustained during a car accident in 1997. The car in which Diana was driving was chased by paparazzi that led to the accident.
Chris Connaughton, the author of the book, wrote on the book’s website that ‘writing about death is difficult’, but that ‘it can be even harder to talk’. The book was created with the help of child fraud specialists.
“It’s always hard and awful to deal with the death of someone you love, to lose someone who loved you,” Connaughton wrote. “… Whoever you think of, I hope this story helps make some of the hard and awful things a little easier.”
The book was released on Friday and was immediately received with praise on Twitter.
‘Sadness is difficult for an adult but [for] a child is unimaginable, “one user said. “I lost my sister to COVID and my heart breaks every time I think of her and the pain she endured alone.”
The Duke of Sussex often speaks with love about his deceased mother and often compares her critically-heavy experience in the royal family to what his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is currently experiencing.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey on March 7, he said that “all she ever wants is for us to be happy”, and that Diana will feel ‘very angry’ about how Meghan has been treated since the couple married in 2018. He attributes his and Meghan’s ability to go away from their royal duties towards Diana.
“I brought what my mother left me,” he told Winfrey. “And without it we would not have been able to do it. If I had thought my mother of this, I think she saw it coming. I certainly felt her presence during the whole process.”