Prince Harry has said a photograph of Princess Diana meeting Nelson Mandela in 1997 remains on his ‘wall and his heart’ during his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly in New York City today.
The Duke of Sussex, 37, who shares Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, with his American wife, also revealed how he ‘knew he had found a soulmate’ in Meghan Markle, 40, on a visit to Africa.
During his speech, he spoke about his love for the continent, which he first visited when he was 13 years old with his mother, the late Princess of Wales, and explained that he went there to seek solace following her death.
It was then that the Queen’s grandson also sweetly called the Duchess of Sussex, who he whisked to Botswana on their third date, his ‘soulmate’.
The General Assembly established July 18 – Mandela’s birthday – as an international day to honour him – not only by celebrating his life and contributions but by carrying out the tradition of participating in a community service activity.
Prince Harry has said a photograph of Princess Diana meeting Nelson Mandela in 1997 remains on his ‘wall and his heart’ during his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly in New York City today
During his speech, Harry said a photograph of his mother Princess Diana meeting Nelson Mandela (pictured) remains ‘on his wall and his heart’
Harry and Meghan arrived hand-in-hand ahead of his speech to delegates on climate change and poverty during the two hour meeting.
It is the first time that the couple have been seen in public since jetting to the UK to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last month, where they kept a low profile.
During his speech, Harry said a photograph of his mother Princess Diana meeting Nelson Mandela remains ‘on his wall and his heart’.
He said that his mother’s ‘joy and playfulness’ can be seen in the photograph, taken in Cape Town in March 1997, just five months before her tragic death.
‘We’ve also come to know him through the photographs of a person who even when confronting unimaginable cruelty and injustice, almost always had a smile on his face,’ said Harry.
‘For me, there’s one photo in particular that stands out. On my wall, and in my heart everyday, is an image of my mother and Mandela meeting in Cape Town in 1997.
The Duke of Sussex, 37, who shares Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, with his American wife, also revealed how he ‘knew he had found a soulmate’ in Meghan Markle, 40, on a visit to Africa
During his speech, he spoke about his love for the continent, which he first visited when he was 13 years old with his mother, the late Princess of Wales, and explained that he went there to seek solace following her death
‘The photo was presented to me by the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu who’s friendship and inspiration were their own treasured gift. My wife and I had the honour of introducing our four-month-year old son to him back in 2019.
‘But when I first looked at the photo, straight away what jumped out was the joy on my mother’s face, the playfulness, cheekiness even, the pure delight to be in communion with another soul so committed to serving humanity.’
Meanwhile, as Meghan proudly watched her husband while seated in the audience, Harry referred to her as his ‘soulmate’.
‘Since I first visited Africa at 13 years old, I’ve always found hope on the continent,’ he said.
‘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 was then that the Queen’s grandson also sweetly called the Duchess of Sussex, who he whisked to Botswana on their third date, his ‘soulmate’.
The General Assembly established July 18 – Mandela´s birthday – as an international day to honour him – not only by celebrating his life and contributions but by carrying out the tradition of participating in a community service activity. Pictured, Meghan and Harry at the event
‘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. And it’s why so much of my work is based there.’
During the event, the 2020 UN Nelson Mandela Prize was awarded to Mrs Marianna V. Vardinoyannis of Greece and Dr Morissanda Kouyaté of Guinea. This prize is handed out every five years and recognises people who have dedicated their lives to the service of humanity.
Meghan spoke at a conference at UN headquarters organized by UN Women on International Women´s Day in 2015, before her marriage to the prince.
In January 2020, the couple stepped down as senior members of the royal family and moved to the duchess’ native Southern California, where they continue to live with their two children.
Harry and Meghan visited South Africa in 2019 with their son, Archie, on their first official tour as a family before they gave up their royal duties.
Harry’s speech comes hours after it was revealed in a new bombshell book that his Eton pals called him ‘f***ing nuts’ for dating Meghan.
Tom Bower, journalist and author of ‘Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors’, claims Harry invited Meghan to join him at Sandringham for his weekend shoot in 2016.
Their relationship had only just been publicly revealed, and the Prince reportedly invited 16 friends to join him over the weekend.
They mostly included old school pals from Eton, employed by international banks and auction houses, who joined him for dinner, shooting and lunch with the Queen’s permission.
Bower claims the Duke of Sussex had been excited for a weekend of ‘endless banter’ with his pals, but Meghan, 40, was less than impressed and ‘challenged every guest’ who ‘contravened her woke values’.
Meghan ‘lacked any sense of humour’ and was a ‘dampener on the party’, Bower says in his new book, according to The Times newspaper.
She also reportedly ‘reprimanded them for their jokes about sexism, feminism and transgender people’, with Bower writing that Harry had ‘not anticipated’ Meghan’s reaction.
He wrote: ‘She lacked any sense of humour. Driving home after Sunday lunch, the texts pinged between the cars: “OMG, what about HER?” said one. “Harry must be f***ing nuts”.’
Bower claims Meghan ‘reprimanded guests’ if they made the ‘slightest inappropriate comment’ and ‘nobody was exempt’.
The claims comes after it was revealed Meghan ‘called her PR team in hysterics’ after Buckingham Palace reacted with ‘fury’ to ‘her Vanity Fair interview about Prince Harry’.
Bower says Meghan was ‘ecstatic’ when she was asked to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair’s September 2017 issue and do an interview with the magazine.
But when the magazine ran with the headline ‘Wild About Harry’ on its cover – focusing on Meghan’s relationship with the British prince rather than her work as an actor, activist and philanthropist – Bower says the Palace was taken aback.
Within hours of the magazine’s pre-publication copies being sent to Buckingham Palace, Bower says Meghan phoned her PR firm and ‘hysterically’ told them of the Palace’s fury.
Bower reports that Meghan was furious that the piece was not more focused on her philanthropy but says this was due to the fact Vanity Fair researchers were unable to substantiate two key stories she had told about her activism as a young child.
After first discussing Meghan’s speech at the United Nations and a letter she sent to Procter & Gamble as an 11-year-old requesting that they change a slogan promoting washing-up liquid that was deemed sexist, she was asked about Harry.
As reported by Vanity Fair in 2017, Meghan said: ‘We’re a couple. We’re in love.
‘I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time.
‘This is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours. But we’re happy. Personally, I love a great love story.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk