Prince Harry donates $1.5 million to children's charity

By Phil Noble

NOTTINGHAM, England (Reuters) -Prince Harry is to personally donate 1.1 million pounds ($1.49 million) to the BBC Children in Need charity, the organisation said on Tuesday, one of the largest individual sums publicly given by a member of the British royal family.

The announcement came during a visit by Harry to Nottingham, a city in central England, on a first visit to his homeland for five months and one of his most high-profile trips since stepping down from royal duties in 2020.

The money will help young people in communities blighted by violence, especially in Nottingham, Children in Need said.

"We’re grateful for the support of BBC Children in Need in helping changemakers in the city continue their mission to create safe spaces, build trust, and offer hope and belonging to young people who need it most," Harry, 40, said in a statement.

BBC Children in Need, which has raised more than 1 billion pounds since 1980, says it supports more than 1,500 charities and projects across Britain.

While the royals' charitable organisations often donate millions and individuals often privately give to causes, these are not usually publicly disclosed.

King Charles was thanked by organisers for an unspecified donation he gave to an appeal to help survivors of an earthquake which struck Turkey and Syria in 2023, a cause Harry's brother Prince William and his wife Kate also supported.

William has also recently donated unspecified sums to mental health organisations and charities helping in Ukraine and after a hurricane in the Caribbean, as well as giving money to a foodbank in London after it suffered a burglary.

On Monday, Harry laid flowers at the grave of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth on the third anniversary of her death, before attending an awards ceremony for ill children.

On Wednesday, he will visit the Centre for Blast Injury Studies in London.

Media focus has been on whether the prince, who now lives in California with his wife Meghan and their two children, will meet his father King Charles whom he has not seen for 20 months.

($1 = 0.7375 pounds)

(Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)