Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sent a touching message of condolence to the family of a girl who died during lockdown.
Terminally ill Holly Smallman, 18, had brought a smile to Harry’s face when they met in a hospice in 2015.
Holly had serious health problems including celebral palsy, epilepsy and chronic lung disease since birth, and died peacefully in her sleep. She was cremated on March 27 in Aintree, near Liverpool.
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Unopened email from Prince Harry
To add to their grief, Holly’s family were only able to invite 10 people to the funeral and were unable to touch the coffin, the MailOnline reports.
Parents Hayley and Gary, and sister Ruby and brother Josh were struggling to come to terms with their grief.
It just meant the world to us.
They decided to tackle the huge number of unopened emails they had received since her death.
To their surprise, one was addressed from the Duke of Sussex.
Hayley remembered Harry from 2015 when he presented her with an award for young carer for her devotion to Holly.
Caring
In the email, obtained by the publication, Harry said he remembered the meeting, and wanted to send “heartfelt condolences” at such a difficult time.
Harry also said Hayley was “inspirational” for the way she had helped others in the same situation.
“The grief that we’re going through is so awful and we can’t have contact with anybody else at the moment. Only over the phone and FaceTime, so we’re desperate,” Hayley told the Mail.
“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.”
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Hayley added that she would always be “eternally grateful” for what Harry had done for her family.
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