In the new ITV documentary, set to air on Monday evening in the UK, Prince Harry has opened up about his charity work and passion for Africa.
The show tracks the Prince’s work with Sentebale, which Harry co-founded in 2006 with Prince Seeiso.
The organisation helps improve the lives of children and youth living with HIV/AIDS in Africa.
For the Prince, he says the inspiration in setting up Sentebale came from carrying on his mother’s legacy.
“I want to do something really constructive with my life. I want to do something that makes my mother proud. My mother stood for something. There’s a lot of unfinished business and a lot of work that my mother never completed,” Harry explains in the documentary.
But Harry’s place in the world and the burden of royal responsibility often weighed heavily on him.
“My mother died when I was very, very young. I never really dealt with what had happened. There was a lot of buried emotion. So for a huge part of my life I just didn’t even want to think about it.”
Both Prince Harry and Princess Diana have made incredible efforts in the fights against HIV/AIDs.
“I used to bury my head in the sand and just let everything around you just tear you to pieces. I now view life very differently. At the start I was just the ginger white prince who came to make these children laugh,” Harry confessed of his first few trips to Africa when he was in his teens.
Eventually, he realised his life’s mission was to help make a difference for those less fortunate than him.
“I was fighting the system going, ‘I don’t want to be this person. My mother died when I was very, very young and I don’t want to be in this position’. Now I’m fired up and energised,” the humanitarian said.
Harry, who is dating actress Meghan Markle, also reveals he hopes his love of Africa is something he can one day share with his children.
“For me I have this love of Africa that will never disappear… and I hope that it carries on with my children as well.”
The 32-year-old can’t wait to pass on his passion for Africa to his children.
In a touching scene, Harry is reunited with an orphan called Mutsu in Lesotho, Africa, who he first met 12 years ago on his Gap year.
Since their first fateful encounter, the pair have kept in touch through letters and have shared several catch-ups over the years.
Harry also urges everyone to try and make a difference, even in the smallest way.
“I would encourage everyone to do good, because then you can go to bed at night feeling good about yourself. It’s fun to be good, it’s boring to be bad. But you can be naughty as well,” he said.
“If you’re me, if you’re your Average Joe, if whoever you are, if you can’t affect politics and change the big things in the world then just do whatever you can do – whether it’s in your local community, your village, your local church – walking down the street, opening a door for an old lady, helping them cross the road,” the royal pleaded.
“Whatever if it is, just do good. Why wouldn’t you? The good stories are what make people tick everyday, surely? It’s fun to be good and it’s boring to be bad, but you can be naughty as well.”
Harry shares an unbreakable bond with African orphan Mutsu, who he first met 12 years ago.
