Prince Harry has carried out the final visit of his current trip to the UK by meeting those involved with the Diana Award in honour of his late mother – hours after meeting his father King Charles
Prince Harry rounded off his visit to the UK with a visit in memory of his late mother – fresh from a long-awaited reunion with his father King Charles.
The Duke of Sussex carried out his final visit of his trip to his homeland by meeting those involved with the Diana Award, which was set up in the late Princess Diana’s honour.
Harry visited the Diana Award in central London on Thursday morning to hear from young people about how social action has positively impacted their mental health. The duke spent around at hour chatting to young changemakers and listening to a panel discussion with the charity founded in memory of his mother, Diana, Princess Wales, before departing at around 11.18am.
There, he heard moving stories about the emotional struggles young people must overcome in the social media age. His estranged brother Prince William also supports the Diana Award but the pair have not met on Harry’s trip back to the UK.
During the engagement this morning, Harry spoke to 40 young people after a panel with Lottie Leach, Elsa Arnold and Idorenyin Hope Akpan, which was chaired by chaired by Dan Lawes, a former winner of the the charity’s Legacy Award.
Harry then said in a statement: “Getting involved in peaceful social action takes courage and determination. Young people see the issues society faces close up – whether that’s poor mental health or the consequences of inequalities.
“But you don’t stand still; your empathy and compassion drive you to make change. Purpose combined with action can help overcome a sense of hopelessness, and that’s exactly what you’ve shown today.
“When you spoke about how taking action gave you purpose, confidence and joy, it was more powerful than any statistic. It reminded me that agency is not a luxury for young people, it is a lifeline.
“My mother believed in the power and agency of young people to positively impact the world. The Diana Award continues her legacy by putting young people at the heart of everything they do. Today is a perfect example of that. My message to everyone is don’t stand still, don’t stay silent – make them hear you because you speak for the majority.”
Harry was upbeat throughout the engagement but also struck a philosophical tone when he addressed the young people in the room.
He gave a short impromptu speech, from his seat, to the panel, saying: “Thank you all for being here. I don’t know how you were as individuals, all of you… five, ten years ago pre-Diana Award, but to see you sitting up here now with the confidence you have, speaking to a complete group of strangers is proof of the fact this whole thing works.”
He added: “You talk about the mental health piece that is woven through so much of this and it is, it’s emotional… it’s mental and emotional wellbeing.
“In every single Diana Awardee, in every single young person and middle-aged person and probably old people as well, our mental health and our emotional health through our nervous system is being tested every single day.
“And this proven model of being engaged with or finding your purpose with social action, it really does work. You guys are testament to that. Otherwise you’re sitting there feeling hopeless.
“You have the hope. My point is that if you’re a young person it can sometimes feel as though you’re lost and separated from a group and you feel isolated. But I can assure you that there’s nothing wrong with you.”
Last night, Harry had his first face-to-face meeting with his father the King in almost 20 months. The pair’s long-awaited meeting, which lasted just 55 minutes, comes after Harry publicly expressed hopes of a reconciliation with his family in May.
After the meeting Harry appeared relaxed, smiling and upbeat at an Invictus reception in the City of London on Wednesday evening, just over an hour after he left Clarence House where he and the King shared a private tea.
Asked how his father was by a reporter shortly after arriving at the Invictus reception, Harry replied: “Yes, he’s great, thank you.”
The Duke of Sussex’s spokesperson suggested the UK visit had gone well: “He’s obviously loved being back in the UK, catching up with old friends, colleagues and just generally being able to support the incredible work of the causes that mean so much to him.”
The duke, who is celebrating his 41st birthday on Monday, will not be expected to appear at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in London’s Westminster Cathedral on Tuesday. The funeral is being attended by the King, Queen and other senior members of the royal family.
Speculation of a meeting between father and son had been swirling all day yesterday when it emerged that Harry and the King would both be in London at the same time.
Charles flew back to the capital from Balmoral, where he had spent the summer, and was seen arriving in a car at Clarence House around 4pm after catching a flight from Aberdeen to RAF Northolt.
Harry arrived over an hour later at 5.20pm after telling wellwishers who wanted selfies as he left Imperial College London around 3pm that he was running late.
The Duke of Sussex left Clarence House just before 6.15pm and ducked down inside his car as he was driven away to the Gherkin a short-distance away, where he announced the new CEO of the Invictus Games Foundation and gave a speech to supporters .
The King skips lunch each day, but takes a break for afternoon tea at about 5pm, with sandwiches and cakes, and his favoured Darjeeling with honey and milk.
Harry last saw the King in February last year when he made a transatlantic dash from his Californian home to the UK to see Charles following his cancer diagnosis. The pair’s previous meeting was less than 24 hours after the announcement about the King’s health and was without Meghan and their children.
The face-to-face encounter in February 2024 appeared to last for just over 30 minutes – with the latest meeting also lasting less than an hour ahead of the duke’s evening engagement.
The duke, who stepped down from the working monarchy in 2020, has levelled a barrage of accusations at the King, stepmother the Queen, brother Prince of Wales and sister-in-law the Princess of Wales in his Oprah interview, Netflix documentary, interviews and his autobiography, Spare, since moving to the US.
Harry remains estranged from his brother, William, who has been busying himself with a flurry of engagements this week and was away in Cardiff on Wednesday visiting a new mental health hub on World Suicide Prevention Day.
Source: Mirror
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