Prince Harry Tells Fellow Young Father Ed Sheeran Being Dad-Of-Two Is 'A Juggle' At WellChild Awards

Jul 01, 2021 by apost team

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has been a longtime patron of the WellChild Awards, a charity for seriously ill children, and recently joined a private garden party meant to celebrate remarkable children, teenagers, and carers from across the United Kingdom. This event occurs once a year, and although it is usually a larger ceremony, this year's was a smaller, more intimate affair. It took place outdoors at London's Kew Gardens and carefully followed coronavirus guidelines in order to keep the vulnerable children with pre-existing conditions in attendance safe.

Having weathered his mandatory by law five-day quarantine on Windsor Castle grounds in Frogmore Cottage and concluding it with a negative COVID-19 test, Prince Harry was officially cleared to join the ceremony and meet the other charity patrons—one of which included famous musician Ed Sheeran—so that he could spend time talking to each award recipient and their families over the course of afternoon tea during the celebration.

Harry, who is primarily visiting London to attend the unveiling of a new statue meant to celebrate the life of his mother, the much remembered Princess Diana, cheered exuberantly as awards were presented to attendees under a number of special categories. These include the category Inspirational Child, which saw winners Carmela Chillery-Watson, 7, and Anzah Arwani, 11; the category Inspirational Young Person, which was one by William Cuthill, 13, and Luke Fisher, 17; and the category Young Carer winners, which went to Isaac Vials Moore, 10, and Gracie Davis, 13.

Read on to hear what Ed Sheeran and Prince Harry talked about when they met at the charity event.

The WellChild Awards have been close to Prince Harry's heart for years now and are often one of the biggest highlights of his yearly work. There was no way he was going to miss out on the 2021 ceremony this year, so he and charity officials timed his visit to London accordingly. During his speech at the event, Prince Harry looked back on his 14 years as a patron of the well-beloved national charity and remarked that, as a young father, his work has become even more important to him over the last years as he gained a whole new perspective of the charity's work:

"Since becoming patron of WellChild in 2007, this organization and the people within it have held an extraordinarily special place in my heart. I wasn't a father at the time, and yet the stories of these children and parents transcended that. I didn't need to be a dad to feel the impact of this invaluable work. Now as a father of two, I feel all the more connected, inspired and in awe of the resilience of these families, who power through indescribable challenges with the support of WellChild."

He continued further, speaking about the extraordinary challenges the last year and a half have imposed on children and parents alike and how much meeting this year's award winners meant to him: "I could not be prouder to be here, to meet this year's WellChild Award winners, to thank the nurses and doctors for all they do, and to celebrate these amazing families."

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The afternoon tea that followed all the current social distancing rules took place on the Sir Joseph Banks Lawn situated in Kew Gardens. In attendance were several other famous faces, among them Amanda Holden, rock musician and former Rolling Stones member Ronnie Wood and his wife Sally as well as AJ Pritchard, a famous British dancer and choreographer. 

Prince Harry last attended the award ceremony with his wife Meghan in October 2019, when he broke down in tears while he paid tribute to the year's winners for the first time after he became a father himself.

The English singer, songwriter and actor Ed Sheeran was also in attendance. During the event, Sheeran and Prince Harry took the time to exchange a few words and talk about their respective experiences as fathers.

Hello! magazine quotes Sheeran as asking: "Congratulations, a girl right?" We just had a little girl ten months ago now. You're still in the trenches now! How do you manage with two?"

Harry, who became a father again only a few weeks ago when his baby daughter Lilibet Diana was born on June 4, answered: "Two is definitely a juggle."

The two men exchanged a few more words according to reports of the event, however, their talks were kept short as the famous guests alternated between the vulnerable children, who were set up in distanced spaces along the lawn.

Speaking to one of the other guests later, Harry mentioned his daughter Lili again: "We've been lucky so far, she's very chilled and seems happy to just sit there while Archie is running around like crazy."

What do you think of Ed Sheeran and Prince Harry's short talk? Do you also have young children at home or experience with them? Tell us what you think and pass this along!