Welcome To Canada, Harry!

Dear Harry,

Welcome home?!?

I am thrilled that you are in Canada!  I hope you feel welcome and are able to live life on your terms with your beautiful family.  We are so excited to have you!

I don’t know why I am so fascinated with your family, but I am.   I watched your mom and dad get married, in the early morning hours here in Canada.  I was a kid.  It was like watching a fairy tale.

The world  watched as your mom, Diana, tried to find her place in the palace.  It was never easy for her which was so sad to watch.

We watched as she became a mother, not once, but twice. You brought her joy!  That was so clear.

We watched as her boys grew up.  We watched as she tried to give you a sense of normal.  Visits to fast food restaurants and amusement parks,  making sure you saw the importance of giving back, and helping people. She wanted things to be different for her boys.

It was hard on all of us when that fairy tale ended.  That wasn’t how it was supposed to be.  She deserved the happy ending.

I remember when the divorce was final and Diana really started to discover who she was.  She found a purpose in the world.  She WAS the people’s princess.  Queen of our hearts.

Sadly, she was pursued by the press endlessly.  They just wouldn’t leave her alone. I can’t imagine what that feels like from a child’s perspective.  To watch as your mom was hunted down.

And then that horrible night when she was killed in a Paris car crash. I can’t imagine how you felt in that moment.

I will forever remember where I was when I heard the news and how I felt.   I remember the disbelief. The shock.

I cried for you.

I cried for all of us who have ever lost someone so important to us.

I remember watching the funeral on television and watching as her boys followed the carriage.  So much sadness.  Looking so alone.  Your head bowed low.  I can’t imagine having to share that kind of grief with the world watching.

I know the feeling too well. Maybe that’s why I feel so connected to you.

I too, lost my mom in a car accident.  My brother and sister too. It will be 30 years this July. You never completely heal from that kind of loss.

Harry,  I am so very sorry for that pain.

I hope that your decision today will ease some of that hurt.  You didn’t ask to be made prince.  It’s a roll you were born into.  There was no choice or decision.  Yes, you have money and riches.  You live in a palace and travel the world.  Seems so glamorous doesn’t it?  Seems like prison to me.

I think I’d rather have my freedom.  And my ordinary, everyday life.

Harry – I think you are so brave for doing what you are doing,  stepping back from your royal duties, as hard as that must be,  and I think your mother is smiling down, and oh so proud of you.

You are so much like her in the very best of ways.

If you’re ever in the area, let us show you around. We have some pretty great things to see and do in Sarnia-Lambton.

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan