On Saturday, during halftime at the Army versus Navy rugby match at Twickenham, Prince Harry met and offered comfort to two children who lost their mother last year. Emily, 11, and Isaac, 13, were at the match with their father, Matt Briggs. A friend of a friend reached out to the Prince who invited the Briggs’s to watch the match with him and Invictus Games athletes.
It has been nearly two weeks since Prince Harry opened up about his mental health struggles and triumphs, and the royal generously gave his time consoling two young children who lost their mother a little over a year ago.
Emily and Isaac’s mum, Kim, 44, a pedestrian, was on a lunch break on 12 February 2016 when she was struck by a cyclist in Old Street, East London. The HR consultant died six days later in the hospital.
Matt told The Standard: “I was touched because he put thought into this invitation because my son plays rugby and is in the cadets, so it’s a combination of the two things.”
“I think, especially for them [the children], they know his story,” Mr Briggs continued.
Matt revealed that he allowed his children time alone with Harry, noting: “Your grief as a husband is different to grief as a child. I just wanted to stand back and let them have that moment. It was a very, very special moment.”
He had nothing but love and praise for his deceased wife, saying she was a “wonderful and much-loved woman who lived her life to the full and brought warmth to everyone she met.
“She brought a sense of fun to every occasion, and we are devastated by this loss.
“We were very lucky to have had such a wonderful woman in our lives, and her loss is greatly felt. She will be so dearly missed by all her many friends and family.”
Emily told the Press Association afterwards that it was “really nice” to meet Harry, adding: “He just told us everything will be ok. Even though everything seems really bad at the moment, it will get better.”
Her brother Isaac said Harry made them feel relaxed, and he also described the Prince as a “normal guy.”
He went on to say: “We talked about the cadets, we talked about rugby, about losing parents.”
Isaac discussed how he was the same age as Harry when he lost his mother, too: “He was the same age I was, and [it happened] in kind of a similar way.”
Emily added: “It’s nice to know that you can get really good things happen to you, even if something bad has happened – you can still have really good times.”
Prince Harry attended this weekend’s match as the patron of the Invictus Games Foundation, which was the official charity for the match.
Of the former Invictus athletes and those vying for a spot on this year’s UK team, Matt Briggs said: “The stories you hear are just so inspiring and just the people you chat to.
“For people to rebuild their lives and get back out there and do these amazing things is brilliant, absolutely brilliant.”
Obviously as Harry does not feel comfortable discussing business outside of his Royal duties, I am left with the job of translating this material to the masses. It is a given that I wish to promote an economy where everyone can at least afford to eat and shelter themselves. I have stood by this as my principle philosophy from the start and never wavered from it. I know Diana positioned herself as a champion of Blacks, and the perception is that she was targeted for this reason. I feel there are people who use race-baiting as an excuse to attack political opponents for other reasons that have little to do with race. I have studied African culture enough that I am no longer at odds with the almost polar opposites it presents to the traditional European value system. It is enlightening in some respects for sure. All of it is superficial when you get into it and lose your inhibitions to a degree.
I do not fear the repercussions of white supremacists because it is understood that they are there to promote the safekeeping of white land ownership as a group, whereas this notion that Africans deserve to starve and suffer a lower standard of living than whites is perpetuated by the present, so-called modern system of government thrust on us by certain parties who will not be mentioned here. They are not white supremacists, they are business moguls- who have little regard for our environment and it’s most disappointing.
I was born very white bread European and I understand the challenges we face as a race- the perception that blacks are subhuman is wrong. There should be no question that all races of people are human beings and deserve to not suffer and starve because our economy is based on the weapons trade. I feel no fear in stating this openly. I do wish, however, that the African American community would not feel a need to conceal their gratitude towards us because it was never necessary to hide this.
I wished to decriminalize marijuana after I tried it because I felt it was not something worthy of criminal charges. I did not suddenly morph into a monster when I tried it, but it was an alienating experience. I can see how it presents a danger to developing minds and those prone to addiction. I never suggested we should steal the trade from street dealers. In fact, I was adamant that we should not. Not sure whose idea this was. Honestly, I love a beer or a shnaps, yet the dangers presented by these drugs are as potent as those presented by marijuana and IMHO, one is not more deserving of illegal status than the other. Both are equally addictive, yet only alcohol can cause a lethal overdose. Marijuana does, however, cause lung damage and can lead to psychosis if its use is not properly moderated. I no longer smoke because the sulfur in our indoor air makes lung irritation a problem, so it is doubly dangerous to those exposed to lung irritants when smoked.
I hope this about covers the topic for you, Harry.