Harry and Meghan embrace Uvalde school shooting families on surprise trip to Texas: Duke and Duchess attend local event for relatives whose loved ones were gunned down – and surprise one mother with a chorus of Happy Birthday and a cake
Prince Harry and Meghan embraced the relatives of the Uvalde school shooting victims as they made a surprise trip to Texas on Saturday.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended a local event for the families whose loved one were gunned down in the horror attack in May 2022.
The couple even sang Happy Birthday to the sister of heroic schoolteacher Irma Garcia who sacrificed her own life during the massacre at Texas’ Robb Elementary School in a bid to allow her young students to get to safety.
Ms Garcia, who had worked as a teacher for 23 years, was one of 21 people – two teachers and 19 children – who were killed when 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos stormed the building. Her husband Joe tragically died from a heart attack two days later.
Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, also surprised Ms Garcia’s sister with a birthday cake as the Sussexes led the singing in a heartwarming video.
‘Is everyone singing too?’ the duchess joked as she tried to get others to join in. As the family laughed, Meghan called out ‘my love’ to Harry who nodded to confirm he would help her out.
Meghan had opened up about the online abuse she suffered while pregnant at South by Southwest Festival in Austin on Friday before she and Harry came to pay tribute to the families who are still grieving the loved ones they lost in the Uvalde shooting.
Harry and Meghan are seen with the mother of Layla Salazar who was tragically killed in the Uvalde shooting
The Sussexes were seen embracing families at the local event to support the families of the shooting victims
Prince Harry is pictured with Carlos Martinez – a relative of heroic schoolteacher Irma Garcia who sacrificed her own life during the massacre
The Sussexes were also seen supporting the family of Layla Salazar – an 11-year-old girl who loved running and dancing to TikTok videos. Her family shared a photo of Layla’s mother smiling with Harry and Meghan at a local event.
Meghan had visited Uvalde days after the shooting where she laid flowers at a makeshift memorial.
‘She took this trip in a personal capacity as a mother, to offer her condolences and support in person to a community experiencing unimaginable grief,’ a spokesperson for Meghan told CNN at the time.
Ms Garcia’s family described the Sussexes as ‘compassionate, very down to earth, humble people’.
The schoolgirl’s mother told CNN: ‘It was kind of by surprise, she [Meghan] had called my mom one random day and dropped the news on us not too long ago that she was coming to visit the kids and of course we got so excited.’
Mrs Garcia’s nephew, 22-year-old John Martinez, shared a video of Harry and Meghan singing Happy Birthday to his mother and said she ‘died a hero’ and ‘will be truly missed’.
Mr Martinez and his family fathered around Meghan who lit candled and started singing while encouraging others to join in, as Harry stood behind her.
Mr Martinez said: ‘The cake was a surprise for my mum. Meghan and Harry are so so thoughtful and sweet for doing that… I love you Sussex squad.’
Footage shows Meghan calling Prince Harry ‘my love’ before singing Happy Birthday
Prince Harry and Meghan timed their visit to coincide with John’s mother’s birthday, with the couple even bringing them a birthday cake
Harry and Meghan made a surprise trip to Uvalde, Texas to visit the family of Irma Garcia, a teacher who was killed in the May 2022 shooting at the Robb Elementary School. They are pictured with her 22-year-old nephew, John
Speaking to Hello! magazine, he said the royal couple’s visit brought ‘lots of tears of joy and heartfelt moments’.
The event was planned by KABOOM! – an organisation which made a commitment to the community following the 2022 shooting.
The Sussexes’ visit came two days after an independent investigator who was probing the local police response to the shooting presented his findings at a city council meeting. The report cleared all local officers of any wrongdoing, sparking fury among the victims’ families who have called for accountability.
Investigator Jesse Prado said officers had acted in good faith despite local authorities previously being accused of botching its response to the shooting.
Veronica Mata, whose 10-year-old daughter Tess was among those killed, shouted: ‘You said that they did it in good faith. You call that good faith? They stood there 77 minutes and waited after they got call after call that kids were still alive in there.
‘We’re going to stand here and we’re going to keep fighting for our own, because nobody else is going to do it.’
The victims of the shooting included a 10-year-old who aspired to be a lawyer and another who wanted to be a marine biologist.
John, 22, posted photos of royal’s visit to social media. They see the Duchess of Sussex speaking with him his driveway
The pair shared a selfie together in the warm Texas sunshine
John posted gushing tweets following the visit by the Duke and Duchess
Meghan has kept in touch with the family since the tragic shooting in May 2022
A third pupil had been saving up money to go to Disney World. But they never got the chance to go on the trip.
Meghan visited Uvalde just two days after the shooting where paid her condolences and laid a bouquet of white roses tied with a purple ribbon at the cross for 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia.
A spokesperson for the Sussexes told the outlet that Meghan went there unannounced to privately pay her condolences at the time.
After the visit, it is believed the Duchess went to the Herby Ham Activity Center, delivering crates of food and drinks to blood donors.
On Friday, Harry and Meghan were all smiles as they headed into Austin’s La Barbecue restaurant.
Harry and Meghan both embraced co-owner Alison Clem in a warm hug each before being escorted inside where they greeted other workers.
The Duchess seemed relaxed as she mingled with restaurant workers, even posing for photos along with her husband.
Irma Garcia, a teacher at the Robb Elementary School was killed in the May 2022 shooting
Two days after Irma’s death, her husband, Joe, died from a heart attack
The visit came after Meghan opened up about the ‘hateful’ cyber-bullying she received while pregnant with Archie and Lilibet during SXSW festival.
She arrived in Texas on Friday to discuss ‘breaking barriers and challenging stereotypes’ at an event at the festival alongside Brooke Shields and Katie Couric
Meghan talked about social media use and claimed most of the online hate she experienced happened while she was pregnant with her two young children.
‘I keep my distance from it right now for my wellbeing but the bulk of the bullying and abuse I was experiencing in social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and with Lili, and with a newborn, with each of them,’ she said.
‘You just think about that and to wrap your head about why people would be so hateful. It’s not catty it’s cruel. Why you would do that when you’re pregnant or as a mom it’s such a tender and sacred time.’
She added: ‘You could succumb to it, or nearly succumb to how painful that is. Or maybe because I was pregnant that mammalian instinct just kicks in to do everything you can to protect your child and as a result protect yourself too.’
Meanwhile, Prince Harry was seen clapping in the front row to support his wife Meghan – next to her old friend and confidante Markus Anderson.
This comes as the Duchess is said to have hired a ‘new PR guru’ in time for her UK relaunch.
Meghan visited Uvalde just two days after the shooting where paid her condolences and laid a bouquet of white roses tied with a purple ribbon at the cross for 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, visits a memorial site in Uvalde, Texas in May 2022 to honor the victims killed in the elementary school shooting
Meghan wants a stellar publicist to help her promote a new mystery business venture in 2024 that has reportedly been months in the making.
An unnamed executive has been recruited to help her handle the Duchess’s UK and European media operation and promote Archewell, the foundation she runs with her husband Prince Harry.
The Duchess of Sussex’s new project is said to have been in the pipeline since last year and described as ‘highly personal to her’ and ‘genuine to who she is’ by The Daily Telegraph.
It will only feed deafening rumours that she wants to relaunch her lifestyle blog The Tig, especially after her friend Gwyneth Paltrow ‘s GOOP brand burst through the $250million value over Christmas.
MailOnline revealed her search new UK PR executive- but those at the heart of the industry claimed it won’t be an easy job because the Sussexes’ don’t have a reputation for being good listeners.
One described the role as ‘a s**t sandwich that many senior PR people will not be willing to eat’.
