When Prince Harry had begun a speech at the outset of a week of engagements, news had broken that he had lost all of his claims against the publisher of the Daily Mail, with his allegations of unlawful information gathering being dismissed.
That had followed a chaotic war of words, in which Prince Harry’s team had announced he would be staying at Buckingham Palace, only for the Palace to say that the duke had already been told that a stay had been ruled out.
The subsequent event for Prince Harry in London on Wednesday, about the Invictus Games for injured service personnel, was carried out without any press being allowed inside, despite previous plans for coverage.
In Birmingham on Thursday, the duke’s hospital visit celebrated the efforts of the WellChild charity, which he has supported for many years, becoming patron in 2007.
On the duke’s visit he met Nicky Holt, one of more than 50 nurses funded by WellChild, whose specialism is working with children who need ventilation to help them breathe.
Prince Harry spoke to some of the young patients and their families on the wards, and told them his son Archie is “obsessed with Lego” and is a “master builder”.
He also told a room full of staff and loved ones: “I don’t know if you hear it enough, the difference that you make every single day is quite literally changing daily lives”.
“I understand, and we understand, that becomes harder every week with cuts and financial difficulties… just the insanity that seems to be circulating, not just in this country but in general.”
