Prince Harry Dresses Up as Spider-Man to Send Encouraging Christmas Message to Children Who Have Lost a Parent

(Image credit: Getty)

published 4 December 2022

In a touching message to children who have lost a parent in the British Armed Forces, Prince Harry dressed up as Spider-Man and told viewers that it’s okay to miss loved ones during the holiday season.

The video, shared with the Scotty’s Little Soldiers charity at their annual Christmas party, featured Harry saying “Christmas is a time when we miss our loved ones really, really badly. And that’s okay. But, at the same time, it can be possible to feel guilty for having fun without our parents. But I’m here to assure you that our parents always want us to have fun, okay? So don’t feel guilty. You’re allowed to have the best time ever, especially with the Scotty’s Little Soldiers community. So go out there, have the best time, and Merry Christmas.”

Scotty’s Little Soldiers helps children who have lost a parent in the British Armed Forces. This year, the charity’s Christmas party was themed “Heroes and Villains”—hence the Spider-Man costume worn by the Duke of Sussex.

At the party, “the children were told that villains were trying to ruin Christmas, and they were tasked with ‘defeating them’ as part of the theme,” People reports.

“Use your teamwork, your brains, and your brawn, and you do exactly that,” Harry told the children. “Find them, and don’t let them ruin Christmas.”

This is not the first time Harry has sent a video message for the event—in 2019, he dressed up as Father Christmas for his message.

“It’s not the first time Prince Harry has shown us that he’s thinking about us and it’s good to hear from him again this Christmas,” said Ben O’Donnell, a 14-year-old boy who was nine weeks old when his father, Warrant Officer Class 2 Gary O’Donnell, died. “He’s gone to a lot of effort, which shows he genuinely cares. It’s great he wore the Spider-Man outfit. Maybe he’ll be the next Spider-Man!”

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.