Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Amber O'Connor

Boy's Prince Harry World Book Day costume dubbed 'masterpiece' as mum explains choice

A mum has wowed royal fans after transforming her son into Prince Harry for World Book Day.

Three-year-old Ellis Wright is known for his bold personality, so when he was invited to dress up for the annual occasion, his mum quickly decided on the perfect costume.

Keen to follow her son's wishes, as he didn't want a traditional costume for his first World Book Day at preschool, she suggested the Duke of Sussex and author of Spare - and the youngster loved it.

His mum, Melissa Wright, 36, from Surrey, set to work, creating a costume that's nothing short of a 'masterpiece', as impressed parents have dubbed it.

Ellis loved celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee (Melissa Wright)

Using children's hair spray and face paint, she transformed Ellis into Prince Harry, complete with ginger hair and a beard, which her son picked as his favourite part of the outfit.

"I was a bit worried because I guess it is a controversial topic because everybody does have quite a big opinion," Melissa admits. Thankfully, people have agreed the idea is "quite harmless and funny" so far and she's not had any negative feedback.

"Essentially, it is just fun," she added. The single mum also stressed it was a 'tongue in cheek' choice made to delight her little prince, who has not read Spare but shares similarities with its author, according to her.

Melissa explained: "As he's only three, I was giving him some suggestions; the typical sort of Julia Donaldson characters or things three year olds would like to be read. Then, he was like, 'no, no I don't want that one.'

"He is quite feisty, he's definitely got an opinion, which then kind of led me to Harry.

Melissa Wright works as a make-up artist (Melissa Wright)
She used her skills to transform her son (Melissa Wright)

She added: "As a family, we do quite love the royal family. He loved the Jubilee. My mum threw a huge party and he still talks about that now.

"He is a bit obsessed with being a prince as well so I thought it would be perfect."

As to what Ellis will be next year, his playground admirers can be sure it will be another 'outside of the box' idea, as the Prince Harry costume is one in a long line of brilliant creations from the family.

Melissa, who is the d irector of an office refurbishment company and works as a make-up artist at weekends, is known for creating epic costumes for his big sister, Xanthe, 9.

Ellis loves dressing up, just like his big sister (Melissa Wright)
Xanthe has a reputation for her costumes (Melissa Wright)

Together, the mum and daughter duo love to make the most of Melissa's skills, but they swap her usual classic bridal makeup for more creative designs. As such, World Book Day has become something of a tradition for the pair.

"It is basically mine and my daughter's favourite day of the year, other than Halloween," Melissa explained.

Whether or not this is the reason her son loves dressing up, Melissa is not sure, but she's happy so long as he is.

"There are some boys in his class that are refusing to dress up but Ellis is not that boy. He really loves it," she added.

"If he didn't love it, I would never have done it. He just wouldn't have done it - he's three. Don't mess with three-year-olds."

As to what Prince Harry might think of the costume, she's not sure, but hopes Ellis would get the royal seal of approval.

" I hope he would find it funny. I guess in a way it is promoting his book. I hope he would really like it. I hope they all would."

Do you have an amazing World Book Day outfit to share? Email amber.oconnor@reachplc.com

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.