Prince Harry has sent a message of congratulations to a group of veterans who travelled from London to Mount Everest and back in just seven days. The royal, who completed 10 years in the army, praised their remarkable achievement in a personalised message to Kevin Godlington, who one of the ex-Special Forces soldiers who achieved the challenge.
Kevin later took to Instagram to share a picture of Harry’s emotive letter, tagging @scottyslittlesoldiers @nikkiscottsls in the post. The typed part of the message read: “Wow – what a remarkable accomplishment. What you have done is nothing short of extraordinary.”
He added: “Reaching the top of the world is an immense physical and mental challenge in its own right, but doing it with purpose to honour and support military families elevates this feat to another level entirely. I take my hat off to you all.”
Harry continued: “You’ve pushed the boundaries of human endurance while shining a light on a cause that is deeply important to me, the wellbeing of our service families, especially children and young people who’ve experienced loss. For that, I am hugely grateful.
“You’ve not only conquered Everest, you’ve brought attention to the sacrifices of our Armed Forces in a way few others could.”
Harry also added a handwritten message, writing: “Well done lads. All the best. Harry.”
The letter concluded with his printed title: “Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex” – complete with a royal cypher at the top.
Scotty’s Little Soldiers was established in 2010 by Nikki Scott following the death of her husband Lee “Scotty” Scott. Lee was killed in 2009 whilst serving with the Royal Tank Regiment in Afghanistan.
Nikki founded Scotty’s Little Soldiers after witnessing the positive impact a holiday had on their son Kai. The organisation aims to support more than 1,000 bereaved children and young people by 2030.
During his decade in the military, Harry completed two tours of Afghanistan.