The courtiers called the prince 'the Happy Prince' because when he was alive, he was always happy. He did not know what tears were. He lived in a palace where sorrow was not allowed to enter. He never got a chance to saw the misery and the suffering of the poor and unprivileged people on the other side of the boundary. 

The Happy Prince sent a ruby for the seamstress as she was extremely poor and could not feed her child who was suffering from fever.

On being convinced by the Prince, the swallow picked out the ruby from the sword and flew to the seamstress' house. On reaching the house he saw that the seamstress had fallen asleep and the little boy was tossing feverishly on the bed. The swallow laid the ruby on the table and flew gently round the bed, fanning the boy's forehead with his wings. The boy immediately felt cool and with a feeling of improving health, he fell off to sleep.

The Happy Prince sends sapphire to a young girl and a writer.
The young writer was trying to finish a play but he couldn't because he needed money to buy firewood which would keep him warm. Therefore, the Prince sent sapphire to him so that he could sell it to the jeweller to buy firewood and finish his play.

The Happy Prince sent another sapphire to the little matchgirl who was standing in the square just below him. Her matches had fallen in the gutter because of which they were all spoiled. He knew that her father would beat her if she did not bring home some money. 

When the swallow flies over the city, it sees the stark contrast of plenty and poverty. The beggars sitting at the gates of the rich men's houses. It flies into the dark lanes and sees the white faces of starving children. Under the archway of a bridge, it sees two little boys lying in each other's arms trying to keep themselves warm in the rain. It sees rich men celebrating happiness oblivious to the plight of the poor down the lane. The swallow goes back and tells the Prince about all it observes.