Prince Harry Has A Deeper Connection To Africa Than We Knew

In 2006, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, partnered with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to create Sentebale, a charitable organization focused on serving Lesotho’s youth. In particular, Sentebale seeks to help children and young people impacted by HIV/AIDS. Besides being created to pay tribute to Princess Diana and Seeiso’s mother, Queen ‘Mamohato, Sentebale is the Sesotho word for forget-me-nots, a bloom that was reportedly Princess Diana’s favorite flower.  Advocating for people with HIV/AIDS was important to Diana, and she helped destigmatize the disease by being photographed holding AIDS patients’ hands back in the 1980s.

Harry first met Seeiso in 2004, when he worked in Lesotho during his gap year. The two princes developed a strong bond, and, over the years, Seeiso has been impressed by Harry’s ability to connect with children. For Harry, one of the things he enjoys most about working with children is that they relate to him as a person, rather than as a royal. Anonymity while working on causes close to his heart is key to Harry’s relationship with Africa. “I have this intense sense of complete relaxation and normality here,” the prince explained to Town & Country.

Besides pursuing causes important to Diana, Harry is also following in King Charles’ footsteps by promoting wildlife conversation efforts in Africa. In 2017, the prince was named the president of African Parks. A year earlier, Harry traveled to Malawi and worked as part of a team translocating elephants for the 500 Elephants Project.