As the funeral for Queen Elizabeth has finally come to a close, royal news here in Iowa is starting to make headlines. I've always been so jealous of people who were talented in the form of art. Any kind of drawing, painting, sculpting, or photography, I catch myself wishing I was that talented. It turns out there's a 12-year-old boy from Dubuque, Iowa, who I can add to my "envious of" list.

According to KCRG, Arsh Pal made national news when he recently received the Diana Award. Yeah, we're talking about that Diana. The one who used to be married to (now) King Charles III.

Arsh is a painter who's used his paintings to raise money for charity. The Diana award is given to people ages 9-25 who "selflessly create and sustain positive social change" according to KCRG. Nominations must be made by someone who is not a family member as any nomination made by a family member will not be accepted.

Over the past 4 years, Arsh has been painting and selling those paintings with the proceeds going to the Saint Jude Children's Hospital. It turns out, Arsh has a little bit of competitiveness to him.

When speaking to KCRG, Arsh mentioned a lot of people doubted he could raise $1,000 for the hospital. Well, Arsh decided to prove everyone wrong.

Originally my first goal was to raise 1,000 dollars for Saint Jude research hospital. And everybody kind of doubted me because I’m so young. But when I did raise 1,000 dollars, everybody was surprised.

Not only has Arsh raised money for Saint Jude's, but he's also helped raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation. The Make-A-Wish Foundation is famous for creating life-changing wishes and moments for children who have critical illnesses.

Arsh is in pretty rare company as this Dubuque 12-year-old is only 1 of 180 people around the world to receive the Princess Diana Award this year.

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