Captain Sir Tom Moore: Daughter opens up on trolling
The Queen led tributes to Captain Tom after his death was announced earlier this month. The monarch publicly praised the fundraising hero with a statement issued by Buckingham Palace shortly after the news of Captain Tom’s passing broke.
However, she also sent a private message of condolence to his family.
This morning, Captain Tom’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore lifted the lid on the gesture, telling BBC Breakfast: “We had a lovely letter from her and I think she felt genuine loss – it’s another one of her generation”.
The Queen personally met Captain Tom and his family on July 17, when she knighted him during her first face-to-face engagement since the beginning of the national lockdown in March.
But she had already been in touch with the veteran on April 30, when she had a card delivered to him to mark his 100th birthday.
Queen news: The Queen wrote a private message to Captain Tom’s family after his death (Image: GETTY)
Queen news: The Queen meeting Captain Tom and his family (Image: GETTY)
The private message was disclosed by Captain Tom himself, who on his birthday proudly posed with the card in his hands.
In her letter, the monarch wrote: “I am so pleased to know that you are celebrating your one-hundredth birthday on 30th April, 2020.
“I was also most interested to hear of your recent fundraising efforts for NHS Charities Together at this difficult time.
“I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion. – Elizabeth R”
READ MORE: Prince Harry to become ‘closer’ to Royal Family when Charles is King
Queen news: Captain Tom Moore died in late January aged 100 (Image: GETTY)
Captain Tom cherished his meeting with the Queen more than any of the other extraordinary events happened to him in 2020, according to his daughter.
Speaking about her father’s “standout” moment of last year, Mrs Ingram-Moore said: “Alongside so many incredible things it seems a little harsh on all the other things, but there is only one, and that was meeting the Queen.
“And she said thank you, and recognised what the family had done.
“We can never undo that, nothing can ever undo that.”
DON’T MISS
Queen news: Captain Tom posing with the Queen’s card on his birthday (Image: TWITTER/CAPTAIN TOM MOORE)
Queen news: The Queen knighted Captain Tom in July last year (Image: GETTY)
Captain Tom died in Bedford Hospital on January 31, but his death was announced on February 2.
The World War II veteran won Britain’s hearts when he raised £33million for NHS charities by committing – and succeeding – to complete 100 laps of his garden before turning 100.
Following his death, a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “Her Majesty very much enjoyed meeting Capt Sir Tom and his family at Windsor last year.
“Her thoughts, and those of the royal family, are with them, recognising the inspiration he provided for the whole nation and others across the world.”
Queen news: The Royal Family’s family tree (Image: EXPRESS)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also joined in the thousands of Britons paying tribute to the veteran, saying: “Captain Sir Tom Moore was a hero in the truest sense of the word.
“In the dark days of the Second World War he fought for freedom and in the face of this country’s deepest post-war crisis he united us all, he cheered us all up, and he embodied the triumph of the human spirit.
“He became not just a national inspiration but a beacon of hope for the world.
“Our thoughts are with his daughter Hannah and all his family.”
Queen news: Captain Tom Moore raised more than £30m for the NHS (Image: GETTY)
Captain Tom’s daughter revealed her family had discussed his funeral plans last year.
She recalled: “I said ‘I think your idea of the cardboard coffin and using the cheapest funeral that you could, is probably not going to cut it.’
“It was quite emotional for him because I think he was just overjoyed that we were asking, and we wanted him to tell us exactly what he wanted.”
Mrs Ingram-Moore explained the family has “very clear directive” from Captain Tom about what his last tribute will have to look like “and how it should go – right down to the sandwiches”.
