Prince Harry meets with fellow Royal during flying visit to South Africa without wife Meghan Markle
2 October 2024, 11:39
Prince Harry has met with a fellow Royal during a flying visit to South Africa to raise awareness for his charity work.
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The Duke of Sussex met with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho - the younger brother of Lesotho's King Letsie III - at a bonfire to reflect on the progress and the work of his charity Sentebale.
The charity was established by the duke and Prince Seeiso and works with young people affected by HIV.
Before sitting around the campfire, Harry was all smiles with Prince Seeiso as the friends were reunited and posed for pictures together.
The duke's wife Meghan Markle was notably absent from the trip, as Harry travelled alone from their home in the celebrity enclave of Montecito in California. The couple have established a new life for themselves in the US with their children Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.
Read More: Prince Harry shares sweet detail about daughter Lilibet as he visits London without Meghan Markle
Opening up about the charity's work at the event, Harry said: “We’re hitting the targets, not just Sentebale but all of the departments are, and it’s making a massive difference, and it is this surge of energy and optimism and the voice of young people ranging from six to 25 – and the biggest difference of which really needs more work, is when people from the top start listening.”
Prince Seeiso added: "This whole journey of Sentebale started from that element of [Harry] having come to the motherland – he's now my younger brother Mohali, the warrior – but experiencing breathing the same air, eating the same food as the children… that inspired this dream to come to where we are now.
"But it is that deep felt need that we want, collectively, to make a difference in our lifetime, and not only in our lifetimes, but to leave a legacy and pass on the baton to the next generation so that's why we are going out in all different angles."
The trip to South Africa is Harry's first to the country since stepping back as a working Royal, and his first since 2019.
He also previously spent four months in Prince Seeiso's native Lesotho - a landlocked kingdom inside South Africa - during his gap year in 2004.
Harry's trip came just five weeks before his estranged brother Prince William is set to travel to Cape Town for the fourth Earthshot Prize.
Princess Kate is not expected to travel with the Prince of Wales.
Ahead of his South Africa trip, Harry made a rare visit to the UK for the WellChild awards.
The duke was celebrating the achievements and resilience of seriously ill youngsters and their families during his brief UK visit.
Harry is WellChild's patron, a position he has held for more than 15 years.
The visit raised speculation about whether Harry and his estranged brother the Prince of Wales would see each other, or if the duke would make a trip to Scotland to spend time with his father the King.
But Harry swiftly left the country without appearing to make contact with his brother and father.
Harry and William reportedly did not talk when they attended a family funeral in August in the UK.
The King, meanwhile, is believed to be spending time at Balmoral. It is thought that Charles has not seen Harry since the duke rushed to his father's side after his cancer diagnosis was announced in February.
