Prince Harry Says That Africa Is Where He Feels Closest to Princess Diana

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Prince Harry has spoken about his personal memories of Princess Diana during a keynote speech at the U.N to mark Nelson Mandela International Day. The Prince described being invited to give the address as an “honor,” noting how much Mandela “means to so many.”

Recalling a photograph of the anti-apartheid activist with his late mother, taken not long before her death, the Prince said, “On my wall, and in my heart every day, is an image of my mother and Mandela meeting in Cape Town in 1997.” He described the “joy on my mother’s face. The playfulness, cheekiness, even. Pure delight to be in communion with another soul so committed to serving humanity. Then I looked at Mandela. Here was a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, asked to heal his country from the wreckage of its past and transform it for the future.”

Later in his speech, the Prince spoke of “a painful year in a painful decade” and described how this has been “felt even more deeply across the continent of Africa.” Of Africa, he said, “I’ve always found hope on the continent. In fact, for most of my life, it has been my lifeline, a place where I have found peace and healing time and time again. It’s where I’ve felt closest to my mother and sought solace after she died, and where I knew I had found a soulmate in my wife.”

Harry also described “a pivotal moment” for the planet where people can choose to feel despair and anger or take inspiration from Mandela’s hope and perseverance. “Climate change [is] wreaking havoc on our planet, with the most vulnerable suffering most of all,” the Prince said. “The few, weaponizing lies and disinformation at the expense of the many. And from the horrific war in Ukraine to the rolling back of constitutional rights here in the United States, we are witnessing a global assault on democracy and freedom—the cause of Mandela’s life.”

Harry was speaking during a 90-minute session at the UN General Assembly in New York to mark Mandela Day. The annual event on July 18 invites people to mark the day by making a difference in their communities.

Meghan was there to support her husbandm but she has previously spoken at the UN in March 2015 for an International Women’s Day event. Then, she told a story about how she managed to change the sexist wording on a Procter & Gamble commercial by writing letters when she was 11.

The Sussexes appeared as a new book by investigative journalist Tom Bower has just been serialized in UK newspapers The Times and The Sun. Revenge goes over the Sussexes’ time in the royal family and also has new details about the time Harry and Meghan were dating.

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