Prince Harry visits Botswana solo on royal tour
Prince Harry has thrown his support behind teen climate change activist Greta Thunberg - and issued a thinly-veiled swipe at Donald Trump.
Prince Harry has spoken about why Botswana holds a special place in his heart as it’s where he came to “get away from it all” following the death of his mother.
The Prince said his time in the country was what helped him deal with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, at an event in which he joined local schoolchildren to plant a tree.
He said: “15 years I’ve been coming here, it’s a sense of escapism, a real sense of purpose.
“I have some of my closest friends here and I came here in 1997 or 1998 straight after my mum died, so it was a nice place to get away from it all.
“But now I feel deeply connected to this place and to Africa.”
He also praised 16-year-old Greta Thunberg for her climate strikes, saying it was “race against time” to stop climate change.
“This last week, led by Greta, the world’s children are striking,” the prince said.
“It’s a race against time and one in which we are losing. Everyone knows it, there’s no excuse for not knowing that.”
“Everyone knows it... no-one can deny science.”
Prince Harry has often talked about his love for Southern Africa and it’s the country he took Meghan Markle to when the couple where newly dating in 2016, and also where he proposed in 2017. The three diamonds in her engagement ring are also from the country.
“I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana,” said Prince Harry after announcing their engagement.
“And we camped out with each other under the stars... she came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic.”
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On Thursday, the Prince paid a solo visit to the country while Meghan and baby Archie remained in Cape Town.
Harry joined local schoolchildren for a tree planting event in Chobe Forest Reserve, planting trees grown from seeds.
Also in Botswana, Harry is due to visit a project run by his charity Sentebale, which focuses on improving the mental health of young people affected by HIV.
He will dedicate an area of forest to the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, a project to facilitate the passage of wildlife near the border with Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile Meghan is hosting a private breakfast for women in Cape Town.
On Wednesday, Meghan opened up about the “juggle” of motherhood but said it was “exciting” to be back at work. She donated some of baby Archie’s clothing to a mothers charity that helps women with HIV and encouraged people to sit on the floor with the babies.
Meghan encourages the clients at @m2mtweets to sit down on the floor pic.twitter.com/6HOV8sCVBJ
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) September 25, 2019
The family also visited Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu at Tutu’s charitable foundation and took baby Archie to meet him. UK media splashed pictures of the adorable encounter all over front pages including headlines saying the royal bub was “Tutu cute”.
Next Harry is expected to fly to Angola, where he will visit the landmine clearance project that featured in some of the most famous photographs of his late mother.
He ends the solo section of his tour in Malawi, where he will meet President Peter Mutharika, before rejoining Meghan and Archie in South Africa for another township visit, this time near Johannesburg.
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