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Prince Harry made a "significant donation" to U.K. charity Himmah that will help fund over 650 meals for families in Nottingham
The organization said that the Duke of Sussex's wife, Meghan Markle, made a donation in 2021
Prince Harry, 40, recently told the BBC he has "put myself at risk" to continue with charity work in the U.K. without state-funded security but remains committed to "a life of public service"
The head of a U.K. charity said he was "gobsmacked" by a generous donation from Prince Harry after the Duke of Sussex underscored that he'll continue to support British charities despite losing a key legal appeal to restore his state-funded police protection in his home country.
In a statement seen by PEOPLE on May 21, the Nottingham charity Himmah announced that the Duke of Sussex, 40, made a "significant donation" to the organization. The social justice organization works to tackle poverty, racism and social exclusion, and the undisclosed donation that Prince Harry made in January will fund over 650 food parcels for families in need in the city.
"I could not believe it when we got the email. To have been chosen by such a high-profile royal once is amazing but to have been supported by Prince Harry too left us completely gobsmacked and hugely humbled," Himmah director Sajid Mohammed said.
The charity may have been on Harry's radar through his wife, Meghan Markle. The Duchess of Sussex, 43, made a donation in 2021 that helped the organization expand its food bank resources, support the Salaam Shalom Kitchen (the only joint Muslim and Jewish community kitchen in the U.K.) and address pressing social issues.
Himmah
Sajid Mohammed, director of Himmah.Himmah said that Prince Harry also sent a heartfelt letter to endorse his support.
"Nottingham holds a special place in my heart, having had the privilege of visiting and supporting the community there for over a decade. The incredible work Himmah does to address food insecurity, poverty, and social exclusion should be recognised and applauded," the Duke of Sussex said in the letter. "I'm happy to be able to play a small part in your mission to bring communities together by creating opportunities and support for those facing hardship."
Prince Harry and Meghan memorably visited Nottingham for their first official royal outing as a couple in December 2017, weeks after they announced their engagement. They tied the knot in a royal wedding in May 2018, and their first child, son Prince Archie, now 6, was born in London one year later.
In January 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they were stepping back from their working royal roles and relocated to her home state of California that summer. The couple's daughter, Princess Lilibet, 3, was born there in June 2021.
As Harry and Meghan build their life in the U.S., they retain roots in the U.K. through charitable commitments like her patronage of SmartWorks and his enduring support for the WellChild Awards.
On May 2, Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos dismissed Harry's high-stakes appeal to reinstate his state-funded security in the U.K. that he says was unjustly stripped after he stepped back from his royal role and moved to the U.S. in 2020.
Security is said to be a sticking point amid an ongoing rift between Prince Harry and his father, King Charles. The Duke of Sussex has long maintained that as head of state, his father could intervene to help restore the protection he seeks for himself and his family — an idea that the palace denies.
Harry addressed the reality that he may never be able to return to the U.K. with his wife and children without this essential protection in a bombshell interview with the BBC that aired on the day he lost the appeal.
The Duke of Sussex said that he has put himself "at risk" by attending charitable functions in the U.K. since 2020 but would "always support" the causes close to his heart.
"The only time that I've come back to the U.K. is sadly for funerals or court cases, with the odd charitable function where I can in between that. I've put myself at risk for that, but I will continue on with a life of public service, so I will always support the charities and the people that mean so much to me," Prince Harry said then.
"I can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point. And the things that they're going to miss is, well, everything," he continued. "I love my country. I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done. I miss the U.K., I miss parts of the U.K. Of course I do. And I think that it's really quite sad that I won't be able to show my children my homeland."
As Harry fights for his future, it has underlined that his rift with his family is far from resolved.
"I don’t think there is any rapprochement,” a source close to the palace previously told PEOPLE. "Nothing has changed."
