Desmond Tutu dies aged 90: Tributes flow including from Prince Harry and Meghan

The royal couple have made a heartfelt tribute to the man who helped end apartheid in South Africa, reflecting on his 2019 meeting with their son Archie.

South African archbishop Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu has died age 90.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have honoured anti-apartheid icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu after he passed away at the age of 90.

The man who coined the phrase “the Rainbow Nation” to describe South Africa when Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black president, died in Cape Town after battling prostate cancer for more than 20 years.

He was affectionately known as “the Arch” – someone who was an outspoken critic of his country’s apartheid regime, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his campaign of non-violent opposition against the government.

In their statement, Prince Harry and Meghan recognised his life’s work and reflected on their son Archie’s 2019 meeting with Tutu and his daughter Thandeka in Cape Town.

“Archbishop Tutu will be remembered for his optimism, his moral clarity, and his joyful spirit. He was an icon for racial justice and beloved across the world. It was only two years ago that he held our son, Archie, while we were in South Africa – ‘Arch and The Arch’ he had joked, his infectious laughter ringing through the room, relaxing anyone in his presence. He remained a friend and will be sorely missed by all.”

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speaks to Archbishop Desmond Tutu while holding her baby son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Picture: Getty

”Arch and The Arch”. Picture: Getty Images

Prime Minister Scott Morrison took to Twitter to pay tribute to a “good and faithful servant”.

“Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the spiritual leader of the anti-apartheid movement,” the Prime Minister said.

“He believed in human dignity and the power of freedom to create a new nation.

“His deep faith was his powerhouse that made the world a better place.”

the leader of the Anglican Church in Australia has hailed Archbishop Tutu for his “tremendous” courage in the wake of the anti-apartheid leader’s death.

Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia, Archbishop Geoff Smith, said Archbishop Tutu was a “person of tremendous faith in God and devotion to God”.

“He was committed to prayer and the study of the scriptures and, from this, sprang his commitment to justice for all people,” he said.

“I give thanks to God for Archbishop Tutu’s tremendous example of courage and extend my deepest condolences to his wife Nomalizo Leah, to his son Trevor Thamsanqa, to his daughters Thandeka, Nontombi and Mpho, to all the their families and to the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

“We have lost a wonderful disciple of Jesus Christ who always showed his faith by his actions.”

Archbishop Tutu was a close friend of former president Nelson Mandela.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was one of the first to pay his respects to the human rights icon.

“The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is another chapter of bereavement in our nation’s farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans who have bequeathed us a liberated South Africa.”

Mr Ramaphosa called Tutu “a patriot without equal”.

“A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world.

“From the pavements of resistance in South Africa to the pulpits of the world’s great cathedrals and places of worship, and the prestigious setting of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the Archbishop distinguished himself as a non-sectarian, inclusive champion of universal human rights,” Mr Ramaphosa said.

Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu coined the phrase “Rainbow Nation”.

Tutu was one of South Africa’s best known figures at home and around the world.

Famously outspoken, Tutu never shied away from confronting South Africa’s shortcomings or injustices.

“It’s a great privilege, it’s a great honour that people think that maybe your name can make a small difference,” he said shortly before his 80th birthday in 2011.

Ordained at the age of 30 and appointed archbishop in 1986, he used his position to advocate for international sanctions against apartheid, and later to lobby for rights globally.

Whether taking on his church over gay rights, lobbying for Palestinian statehood or calling out South Africa’s ruling African National Congress on corruption, his high-profile campaigns were often unwelcome.

None at the top were spared – not even his close friend, Mr Mandela, with whom Tutu clashed with in 1994 over what he called the African National Congress “gravy train mentality”.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and South African icon Archbishop Desmond Tutu attends the unveiling ceremony of the Arch for the Arch monument as part of celebrations for his 86th birthday in Cape Town. Picture: AFP

Quick to crack jokes, he was always ready to dance and laugh with a cackle that became his trademark.

Tutu was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997 and underwent repeated treatment.

He made a rare public appearance in May 2021 to receive his vaccine for Covid-19.

He appeared outside of hospital in a wheelchair, and waved but did not speak.

Archbishop Tutu married his wife Leah in 1955. They had four children.