Among the thousands of well-wishers who flooded the Sydney Opera House Forecourt on Tuesday to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Australia, there was one person Prince Harry couldn’t wait to see, 98-year-old Aussie war widow Daphne Dunne.
Once the Prince found her, he treated Daphne to a personal introduction to his new bride Meghan Markle, who had obviously been told of their special relationship.
‘It’s fantastic. I’m so happy to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you,’ Meghan told her, with a warm embrace.
Daphne responded by congratulating the couple on the recent announcement they were expecting a baby in 2019, telling Meghan ‘it is just what he needs.’
Harry then pointed out the medals Daphne was wearing, explaining that was the reason they’d met.
Daphne caught Harry’s eye for the first time back in 2015.
While completing a royal walk around the Sydney Opera House, following a month-long secondment with the Royal Australian Army, Daphne stood out to Harry as she was wearing a Victoria Cross medal.
Harry knew this was someone very special, the Victoria Cross being the military’s highest award for acts of bravery.
Daphne told The Daily Telegraph at the time: ‘He asked me about the Victoria Cross — he said he recognised that and wanted to know all about it.’
The Victoria cross had been presented posthumously to Daphne’s first husband Lietenant Albert Chowne.
One of Australia’s beloved rats of Tobruk, the Australian War Memorial describes Albert as a having a reputation for bravery and leadership.
Posted to New Guinea, on the March 25 1945, Albert was involved in an attack on the Japanese. Seeing the leading platoon in his company run into trouble, he left his safely covered position and charged.
Despite being shot, he managed to knock out two machine guns before being killed.
He and Daphne had only been married for a year.
In September, 1945, she told the Sydney Morning Herald: ‘I would rather he had remained just ordinary and was alive. He was a wonderful man and a grand husband.’
Since that first meeting, Prince harry has sought Daphne out in the crowd on multiple occasions including in 2017 and yesterday.
He always greets her with a kiss and has time for a special chat.
The Duke and Duchess continue their tour today with a visit to Dubbo.
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