Prince Harry sends moving letter expressing 'deepest and heartfelt condolences' to family mourning 18 year old Holly Smallman

Her mother said Harry 'literally remembered every detail of our meeting five years ago'
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Megan C. Hills24 April 2020

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have sent their “deepest and most heartfelt condolences” to the family of the late Holly Smallman, who passed away earlier this year.

The Duke wrote a personal letter to the 18 year old’s surviving family, who have worked closely with the charity WellChild, which Prince Harry is a patron of, in which he recounted meeting the “very special and happy” 18-year-old.

The letter was published by the Daily Mail and penned to Smallman’s parents, Hayley and Gary.

It began, “I wanted to write and say how saddened I was to hear of the tragic loss of your daughter, Holly. I feel so fortunate to have met Holly in 2015 when her sister Ruby received a WellChild Award. Holly was evidently a very special and happy girl, despite her significant challenges, and she clearly had an extra special relationship with her siblings.”

Prince Harry receiving a gift from Smallman's sister Ruby at the 2015 WellChild Awards
Getty Images

Smallman was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and chronic lung disease.

She died peacefully in her sleep after going into cardiac arrest and was cremated on March 27 in Liverpool, however due to coronavirus restrictions her funeral was restricted to just 10 people and the family were unable to touch her coffin.

Saying it had been a “great privilege to spend time with you all”, Prince Harry shared that he remembered the “amazingly creative handmade penguin that Ruby gave me - complete with the red hair!”

Addressing Smallman’s “truly selfless and inspirational” mother directly, Prince Harry said, “I know since then you have been an avid WellChild supporter and ambassador; it’s been a pleasure to see you again on a few occasions. I’ve heard just how much you’ve done for other parents caring for children with complex needs, helping to push forward programmes and campaigns that provide support to these families.”

Prince Harry delivering an emotional speech at the 2019 WellChild Awards
Getty Images

“Given everything you have both dealt with personally, this is truly selfless and inspirational,” he continued. “I am so grateful to you, as I know many people and families will be too. Huge respect for juggling so many plates and always being able to put a smile on people’s faces.”

“I imagine words cannot really hope to provide much comfort to you and your family at this most difficult of times, but I wanted you to know that you, and your daughter Ruby and son Josh, are all in my thoughts and prayers. Meghan and I send our deepest and most heartfelt condolences,” he finished.

Smallman’s mother Hayley revealed that they had met Prince Harry in 2015 at a Wellchild Awards ceremony and explained that her daughter had made the pottery penguin after Smallman had “read about him having been on an expedition to the North Pole.”

Hayley continued, “When I opened the email from him it was just so personal, he literally remembered every detail of our meeting five years ago at the awards ceremony in London, and there was such a sense of genuine caring in what he'd written.”

“For Prince Harry to find the time to send this email, to know that Holly made that impact on him and that he cares so much, even in all this private turmoil he's going through, just meant the world to us,” Hayley said.

After Prince Harry met Smallman’s sister Ruby at the 2015 event (who was unable to bring Smallman into a room with her), Hayley revealed that Prince Harry had asked Ruby to stay behind so he could meet Smallman as well.

Prince Harry meeting another WellChild winner in 2015
Getty Images

Hayley recounted, “At the end he said, 'I think I might need to meet your sister, don't you think?' and Ruby said, 'oh she'd love to meet you'. He said to me, 'after everybody's gone, stay where you are. You don't have to be anywhere else do you?' I said 'no, it's OK, we're not busy!' and he was laughing.”

After that, Hayley revealed Prince Harry had asked her about the best way to communicate with Smallman.

She said, “As soon as [Smallman] came in he got down on one knee, held her hand and had a full conversation with her, chatting away to her. He said, 'I've just met your incredible sister and I thought there was no way I couldn't meet you as well'. He sent everyone else out of the room and just spent time with the two of them, it was such an incredible moment.”

She said that she would be “eternally grateful for what he’s done for my family” and added that the letter had been “such a lift” for Ruby, who saw her sister as her best friend.

Prince Harry speaking via video call to WellChild members
WellChild

The Smallman family launched a campaign on social media for people to WearPinkforHol, after coronavirus restrictions meant they were unable to have a “big celebration of her life” but wanted people to be involved.

Prince Harry is a long-time patron of WellChild, which supports families raising seriously ill children.

He recently surprised families via video call and at last year's awards ceremony, he became overcome with emotion during his speech as he talked about how the charity's work had taken on extra significance to him as a father.

He said that he had attended the 2018 awards with his wife Meghan, who knew she was expecting at the time, and broke down as he talked about the experience.

He said, "I remember squeezing Meghan's hand so tight during the awards, both of us thinking what it would be like to be parents one day, and more so, what it would be like to do everything we could to protect and help our child should they be born with immediate challenges or become unwell over time."

"And now, as parents, being here and speaking to all of you pulls at my heartstrings in a way I could have never understood until I had a child of my own," he continued, hailing the team at WellChild and the families it supported as "role models and pretty fantastic ones."

To learn more about WellChild and make a donation, you can head to their official website here.

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