Prince Harry was completely humbled by the incredible children attending the annual WellChild Awards in London.
The gala for seriously ill kids, their families and health professionals, celebrates the “bravest children” in the UK.
The charity, which the 31-year-old has been a patron for since 2007, works to ensure the best possible care and support for sick children and their families.
Harry was ever the charming Prince, as he clowned around with the worthy recipients.
In a cute turn of events, nine-year-old Nellie-Mai Evans, who was the winner of the Inspirational Young Person Award in the 7-10 age group, didn’t know Captain Wales was a Prince. Making Harry laugh, she insisted he was a clown and he asked him to make her a balloon animal.
Happily, he tried his hand at making the amusing gift (we think he should probably stick to being a royal!)
“I am humbled by the people and children I meet. You guys are awesome,” Harry said as he began his moving speech.
“The stories we have heard tonight are moving beyond words,” he continued. “They remind us of the utter insignificance of our everyday worries. Yet, one of the things that always stands out is the positivity shown by those in the most difficult and testing circumstances.”
Praising the charity, he thanked the hardworking nurses who, “provide life-changing assistance for so many families.”
Before concluding, “we literally have the bravest children in the UK in this room!”
Click through to check out the inspiring and incredibly brave children that moved Prince Harry
Prince Harry was completely humbled by the incredible children attending the annual WellChild Awards in London.
The fifth in line to the throne was hilariously mistaken for a balloon-modelling clown by nine-year-old Nellie-Mai Evans, who was the winner of the Inspirational Young Person Award in the 7-10 age group.
Nellie-Mai made Harry laugh as she asked him if he was a clown, before requesting a balloon animal. “I will try to, but I can’t make any promises,’ Harry valiantly replied, as he conjured a very unique looking balloon. It must be based on a rare undiscovered animal seen during his African adventures!
The prince also received a gift from 7-year-old Ruby Smallman, the country’s most caring young person, who was nominated for her care of her older sister, Holly, 13. The teen’s healthcare needs include quadriplegic cerebral palsy, epilepsy and lung disease.
Her mother, Hayley Smallman, told reporters, “She told me she wanted to make a present for him and we went to a friend’s pottery studio, called Fishfingers in Liverpool, where she decided to make him a penguin as she knew he had been to the South Pole.”
“Harry seemed delighted and told her that he never normally gets presents for himself, he says he is always given them for other people. He told her that it was one of the nicest things he has received in a long time,” her mum recalled.
The 31-year-old was moved by the incredible award recipient. Addressing the crowd, he said: “We literally have the bravest children in the UK in this room!”
Harry was delighted to meet Toby Sweeney-Croft, the Inspirational Young Person Award winner in the 7-10 years-old age group. The nine-year-old loves to take part in wheelchair basketball and triathlons ever since he was paralyzed from the chest down at the age of three after contracting a disease called acute disseminated encephalo myelitis.
Harry was completely moved when Toby gifted him with a basketball. When Harry said he couldn’t accept it, Toby, nine, insisted, “It cost me £7!” Harry laughed, “You can’t tell me how much! Well, I would love to, on one condition. That when I am old and in my wheelchair we play and you thrash me.”
Harry happily chatted to 17-year-old Megan Smith.
The Prince has been a patron for the charity since 2007.
Over the years he has been moved by the phenomenal youths of Britain (and even had to work his magic creating a few balloon toys!)
Harry proudly stands with all the worth recipients of the 2015 WellChild Awards.
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