Prince Harry on Coping With the Pain of Losing a Parent: "When a Parent Goes to Heaven, They Are Always With You"

Suffering tragedy at a young age is a pain that can be unfathomable. Losing a parent can leave a child so heartbroken, they may carry the hurt and trauma way into their adulthood. Prince Harry is no stranger to such turmoil. The Duke of Sussex lost his mum when he was only 12 years old. Princess Diana tragically died in a car crash in 1997 and even decades later, Harry is still healing. The 36-year-old opened up in a new book to support grieving children and young people who are dealing with the pain of losing a loved one during the pandemic. The book is written by Chris Connaughton and illustrated by Fay Troote and tells the story of a young person coming to terms with the loss of their mother, who had been working on the frontline at a hospital during the coronavirus pandemic. Any child or young person in the U.K. who has been through something this way is being given the book for free.

In the foreword to the book titled Hospital by the Hill, Harry mentions how he hopes the book will provide "comfort in knowing you are not alone." According to People, he writes, "When I was a young boy I lost my mum. At the time I didn't want to believe it or accept it, and it left a huge hole inside of me. I know how you feel, and I want to assure you that over time that hole will be filled with so much love and support. We all cope with loss in a different way, but when a parent goes to heaven, I was told their spirit, their love and the memories of them do not. They are always with you and you can hold onto them forever. I find this to be true."

He continues, "Now, I never met them, but I know this person was special to you, and they were someone incredibly kind, caring and loving because of where they chose to work.  Helping others is one of the most important jobs anyone can ever do. You may feel alone, you may feel sad, you may feel angry, you may feel bad. This feeling will pass. And I will make a promise to you – you will feel better and stronger once you are ready to talk about how it makes you feel. I hope this book helps remind you of just how special your parent or loved one was. And how special you are too." According to CNN, author Chris Connaughton said it was an honor to have Prince Harry's support for his book "and share his open, heartfelt and honest words with kids across the country."

Harry, as well as his brother William, has previously mentioned how their mother's death affected them deeply. Harry sought counseling to help deal with the pain of losing his mother so young.  "I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12 and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life but also my work as well," Harry told The Telegraph. "Then I started to have a few conversations and then, all of a sudden, all of this grief that I'd never processed came to the forefront. I was like, 'There's actually a lot of stuff here I need to deal with.'"

Speaking in a 2019 BBC documentary about mental health, William admitted he felt "pain like no other" after her death and encouraged people to be more open with their emotional struggles."I think when you are bereaved at a very young age, any time really, but particularly at a young age, I can resonate closely to that... you feel pain like no other pain, and you know that in your life it's going to be very difficult to come across something that's going to be even worse pain than that," William said.

But the sons are learning how to deal with the pain every day while honoring their mother and her spirit the best way they can. Last weekend on Britain's Mother's Day, Harry made sure flowers were placed on the gravesite of Diana at her family home of Althorp in Northamptonshire, England. People reports that the annual holiday, known as "Mothering Sunday", is celebrated in the country this year on March 14. It's clear that Harry continues to make sure no matter where he is on his journey of healing, he will always pay tribute to his mother. No matter how many years pass by.

References:

https://people.com/royals/prince-harry-writes-foreword-book-children-coping-loss/

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/19/uk/prince-harry-bereavement-book-foreword-gbr-intl/index.html

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/16/prince-harry-sought-counselling-death-mother-led-two-years-total/

https://people.com/royals/prince-harry-princess-diana-flowers-uk-mothers-day/

Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by (L)John Phillips (R) Photo by Massey/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images