Prince Harry has made a touching tribute to his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, on the eve of his royal tour in Africa.
The Prince arrived in Africa today to begin his tour where he will join King Letsie III of Lesotho in opening the Mamohato Children’s Centre where Harry has made a powerful tribute to two important women in his life, his mother and his former nanny, Olga Powell.
Two buildings within the centre, which will act as a safe house and care house for young children living with HIV/AIDS, will be named the ‘Diana, Princess of Wales Hall’ and the ‘Welcome Centre, in memory of Olga Powell’.
Prince Harry will be in Lesotho today to officially open the centre with his charity, Sentebale (‘Forget Me Not’), which he created with fellow Prince, Prince Seeiso, in memory of their late mothers.
Speaking on the dedications at a function at the charity yesterday, Sentebale’s chief executive, Cathy Ferrier, said, “When Olga passed away the family donated the money that would have gone to flowers to Sentebale, that’s why this building is in loving memory of Olga Powell.”
As for his mother Diana’s dedication, the chief executive revealed, “We felt that we should acknowledge Harry’s mother as well, so we decided the dining hall was a very appropriate place.
“It’s the place where all the children will gather three times a day [for meals] plus do games and drama and goodness knows what else – it felt like the right place to be in memory of his mother.”
Harry with his mother, Diana, in 1987.
Speaking on Harry’s involvement with the charity at the press conference on Wednesday, co-founder Prince Seeiso revealed, “We came to a point together because we had a similar upbringing, where we were led to believe, and made to believe, that we shouldn’t look at ourselves as any different from any other kid.”
“If we were born of privilege we should pay back to society in some way or another and this is why we started this project.”
Commenting on Harry’s upbringing, Prince Seeiso added: “He came from a similar background [with] his mum – that Harry and William, you need to be seen, not only seen but you need to feel what other people are feeling so that you can make a difference in your own way.”
Whilst in Africa, Harry will undertake a number of other engagements including a charity polo match and a tour of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
