Prince Harry discussed sorrow and grief with the founder of a charity that helps children who have lost a parent while serving in the British military forces.

“You convince yourself that the person you’ve lost wants you, or you need to be sad for as long as possible to prove to them that they are missed,” said the Duke of Sussex, who lost his mother, Princess Diana, when he was 12 years old.

Prince Harry Opens Up About Grief And Bereavement

“But then there’s this realization of, no, they must want me to be happy,” he told Nikki Scott, founder of Scotty’s Little Soldiers, in a charity video posted Thursday.

Diana died in a vehicle incident in Paris on August 31, 1997. She was 36 years old.

Harry emphasized the necessity of discussing feelings during the grieving process.

“That’s the hardest thing, especially for kids, I think, which is, ‘I don’t want to talk about it because it will make me sad, but once realizing that if I do talk about it, and I’m celebrating their life, then actually, things become easier,'” according to him.

Harry, a global ambassador for Scotty’s Little Soldiers, spoke with Scott ahead of Armed Forces Day on June 29.

Scott told the Duke about the moment she had to inform her son, Kai, that his father, Cpl. Lee Scott had been murdered in Afghanistan.

It was the worst. “How do you tell a 5-year-old this?” she asked, recalling the emotion of having “shattered his world” in July 2009.

Scotty’s Little Soldiers estimates that 2,100 children lose a parent who served in the UK military each year.

The nonprofit now serves over 680 members and hopes to serve over 1,000 persons annually by 2030.

Prince Harry Opens Up About Grief And Bereavement

Harry complimented Scott for her “incredible” efforts in establishing the foundation.

“It’s incredibly inspirational. I’m incredibly honored and privileged to be a part of Scotty’s now, and I’m looking forward to doing everything we can to bring in more people, generate more interest, collect more cash, and get the message out there to get more kids the help they so urgently need,” he said in a news statement.

A video of their entire talk can be viewed on the charity’s website.

SOURCE – CNN

Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, has left Belmarsh prison in the United Kingdom and had flew out of the United Kingdom on Monday.

Wikileaks revealed Assange’s whereabouts immediately after court documents revealed he was scheduled to plead guilty later this week to violating US espionage legislation, in a deal that would allow him to return to Australia.

According to an unsubstantiated rumor, the jet would land at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday to refuel before continuing on to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory in the western Pacific.

Julian Assange was given permission on Monday to appeal against extradition to the United States after arguing at London’s High Court that he might not be able to rely on his right to free speech in a US court.

The Australian-born Julian Assange, 52, was wanted in the US on 18 charges, nearly all under the Espionage Act, relating to WikiLeaks’ mass release of secret US documents – the largest security breaches of their kind in US military history.

The London High Court had in March granted him provisional permission to appeal on grounds that he might be discriminated against as a foreign national, but invited the US to submit assurances. After Monday’s hearing, two senior judges said Assange’s argument that he might not be able to rely on the US First Amendment right to free speech deserved a full appeal – which is unlikely to be held for months.

“Free, free Julian Assange”

The news prompted cheering and singing from hundreds of supporters who had massed outside the court tying yellow ribbons to the iron railings, holding placards and chanting “Free, free Julian Assange”. Assange himself was not present, which his lawyer said was for health reasons. But his wife Stella, who spoke to him after the ruling, said he was “obviously relieved”, having not been able to sleep at all.

“We don’t know how long this will go on for and it takes an enormous toll on him,” Stella, who had been in court with Assange’s brother and father, told Reuters. She said the decision marked a turning point. “I hope that the US administration looks at this case and now… considers it should just be dropped,” she said. “The signals should be clear that it’s time to drop it.”

The US Justice Department declined to comment on a pending judicial matter. Had Monday’s ruling gone against him, Assange’s team said he could have been on a plane to the US within 24 hours, ending more than 13 years of legal battles in Britain. It could be many months until the appeal is heard, and then that decision could be taken to the UK Supreme Court.

UK Judges sceptical of US Justice department assurances 

US prosecutors had told the court Julian Assange could “seek to rely” upon the First Amendment protections granted to US citizens, and would not be discriminated against because of his nationality. But his legal team said a US court would not be bound by this.

“We say this is a blatantly inadequate assurance,” Assange’s lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told the judges. The court also concluded that Assange’s appeal should apply to all 18 counts, not only three, as lawyers for the US had argued. Fitzgerald did, however, accept a separate US assurance that Assange would not face the death penalty.

WikiLeaks released hundreds of thousands of classified US military documents on Washington’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq along with swathes of diplomatic cables. In April 2010 it published a classified video showing a 2007 US helicopter attack that killed a dozen people in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, including two Reuters news staff.

US authorities say Assange’s actions with WikiLeaks were reckless, damaged national security, and endangered the lives of agents. His many global supporters call the prosecution a travesty, an assault on journalism and free speech, and revenge for causing embarrassment. Calls for the case to be dropped have come from human rights groups, media bodies and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, along with other political leaders.

Assange was first arrested in Britain in 2010 on a Swedish warrant over sex crime allegations that were later dropped. Since then, he has been variously under house arrest, holed up in Ecuador’s embassy in London for seven years and, since 2019, held in the Belmarsh top security jail. He married Stella there in 2022 and the couple have two young children.

Source: Reuters

The UK Sunday Times has reported a member of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party is currently under investigation by Britain’s gambling regulator on suspicion of having gambled on the general election date prior to its announcement.

Two Conservative candidates for office and the party’s head of campaigns are reportedly under investigation by Britain’s Gambling Commission for alleged wagers placed on the July 4 election.

The opposition Labour Party is currently polling considerably ahead of Sunak in the lead-up to the election, and the scandal’s expansion has only made matters worse.

The Conservative Party’s top data officer, Nick Mason, was named by the newspaper as the official. When asked for comment, Mason did not immediately answer. Mason disputed the allegations, according to the newspaper’s citation of a spokeswoman for him.

According to a statement from the Conservative Party, Mason has taken a leave of absence, according to the Sunday Times. Reuters reached out to the party, but they declined to corroborate the report.

“We are not permitted to discuss any matters related to any investigation with the subject or any other persons,” a spokesman for the Conservative Party said, following instructions from the Gambling Commission.

Conservative Party Director Takes Leave

No individuals have been named by the Gambling Commission as of yet. Commission officials have refused to comment on the Sunday Times story, citing confidentiality agreements on the investigation’s subjects.

An “incredibly angry” Sunak expressed his dismay at the accusations leveled against his party members on Thursday, describing them as a “really serious matter.”

The director of campaigns for the Conservative Party, Tony Lee, has taken a leave of absence, and one of the candidates implicated in the incident, Craig Williams, has previously expressed regret for a mistake.

Alleged wagers on the election day have led to the arrest of a special protection unit police officer as well.

Election betting in the UK has skyrocketed in popularity. People place wagers on everything from the overall winner to individual constituency results. It’s not just about predicting who’ll take the Prime Minister’s office.

Many bet on voter turnout, party performance, and even whether certain policies will pass. Betting companies provide detailed odds, helping punters make informed choices.

This betting trend reflects the UK public’s engagement with politics, adding an extra layer of excitement to election periods. It’s a fascinating blend of politics and gambling, drawing in seasoned bettors and curious newcomers alike.

Source: Reuters