Back to ‘second home’ where he likes to romance his ladies
TO PRINCE Harry, Botswana is a ‘second home’, a haven to which he has often retreated.
But while he has visited for charitable and environmental reasons, he has also seen it as a refuge for romance.
Three previous girlfriends have joined the Royal on safari and on houseboats in the region, which makes Meghan the fourth lucky lady he has romanced in the African wild.
Sky Sports presenter Natalie Pinkham was reportedly the first to go on safari with the Prince in 2004 before he began seeing Chelsy Davy the following year.
Zimbabwean-born Chelsy enjoyed numerous holidays with Harry in Botswana, including one on a houseboat called the African Queen where pals joined them for a raucous party to celebrate his 21st birthday. The couple made annual visits out there during their seven years together.
The Prince also chose Botswana as a destination to take his next girlfriend Cressida Bonas – this time on safari.
It is understood he has been planning to make his trip with Meghan extra-special. A source in Botswana said: ‘He doesn’t want to take her to the same places that he took Chelsy. Harry is determined to show her something different.’
The source added: ‘When he goes to Botswana he can move very freely. He’s never photographed, he has a lot of friends there and they protect him.
‘He’s just able to come and go as he pleases and often people don’t even know he’s been out there. He’s got a whole life there people don’t know about.’
His first reported trip to the country was in 1997, just months after the death of his mother Diana. Just 13, he went on safari with a school pal and his nanny, Tiggy Legge-Bourke.
Earlier this year, Harry said: ‘I’ve been lucky enough to visit Botswana for more than 20 years and am incredibly fortunate to be able to call it my second home.’