Confined to Los Angeles, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are no less committed. In a letter quoted by our American colleagues on CNN this Saturday, June 13, the Duke of Sussex recently congratulated a nonagenarian veteran by the name of Joseph Hammond with a surprise letter. The latter has raised funds for workers on the front lines against Covid-19.
For ten years Prince Harry served the British Army with distinction. After resigning in March 2015 for security reasons related to his royal status, the Duke of Sussex had settled for the rank of Captain General of the Royal Marines, succeeding his grandfather, Prince Philip, in December 2017.
But since then, the Megxit has gone through the same process. On March 31, 2020, the date on which his departure from the Firm was made official, little Archie’s young father was stripped of his distinctions. This has no impact on his admiration for the military forces, he who created the Invictus Games, a multi-sport competition for wounded or disabled soldiers and war veterans.
So it was no surprise that Prince Harry praised Joseph Hammond’s efforts in a surprise letter. The 95-year-old Ghanaian soldier walked more than 22 kilometers – 14 miles according to our colleagues on the American channel CNN, this Saturday, June 13) – to raise funds for workers on the front lines of the coronavirus in Africa, where the pandemic is accelerating.
A will of steel that “brought a huge smile” to the Duke’s face. “Even at 95, I imagine it was not an easy task,” he wrote, “however, given the service and altruism you have shown throughout your life, it does not surprise me that you would take up a challenge like this and want to travel even more miles”.
And then he said, “as you said yourself, it’s incredible!” A letter that touched Joseph Hammond deeply. However, this was not his first exchange with Prince Harry. In 2019, at a celebration for Commonwealth soldiers, the two men had met for the first time and talked about their respective experiences in the field.
“I stuck with him because he’s also military, he went to Afghanistan (…) We exchanged ideas. It was wonderful,” the soldier still recalls to CNN. A meeting that the grandson of Her Majesty Elizabeth II still remembers, as he proves in his letter. “It was an honor and a pleasure to meet you at the Field of Remembrance in London last year, and Meghan and I send our best wishes.”
Inspired by “Captain Tom”
As he admitted, Joseph Hammond took a cue from Captain Tom Moore for his action. The 99-year-old former World War II veteran had also raised funds for the fight against Covid-19 for the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.
In April, he had managed to surpass the 20 million euro (£18.6 million) threshold, thus arousing the greatest emotion in Prince William and Kate Middleton. Like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Cambridge family applauded the nonagenarian for his efforts in a video. On April 30, 2020, his 100th birthday, “Captain Tom” was promoted to the rank of Colonel by General Mark Carleton-Smith, Chief of the British Army.
Photo credits : AGENCY / BESTIMAGE