The ‘ginger white prince’ finds his place in the world
charge of the garden. He’s got a serious responsibility in life.”
The Prince credits the charity’s cofounder, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho – who like Harry lost his mother at an early age – with directing his teenage ambition to help people.
“He knew I had the passion to help in any way I could,” says Harry.
“And that at that stage I had no mechanism for starting a charity or to make more of an impact than literally being the ginger white prince that’s come to try to make these kids laugh.” Ten years on, the work of Sentebale – which means “forget me not” – includes HIV clinics for children, education centres for young goatherds and schools for the blind. Here hundreds of children get an education, learn to talk about their HIV status without shame or embarrassment and can support each other and enjoy life, even amid the most difficult of circumstances.
For Harry, the smile on the children’s faces when he visits is confirmation that he has found somewhere he can momentarily escape the daily pressure of being a British royal – but also find a meaningful role for himself.
ITV presenter and reporter Tom Bradby, a friend of both Harry and his brother William, the Duke of Cambridge, says that the Prince has in the past appeared to be “a man who has frequently raged against his fate”, but that the work of Sentebale has given him a way of using his status for the benefit of others. Indeed, during the hour-long film Harry tells him: “For me personally it’s an escape, but not only have I found an escape, I’ve found a way of using the name and the position for good.”
He adds: “There’s a lot of unfinished work that my mother never completed. I’m not suggesting that either of us is going to take over that mantle, but naturally there’s a crossover of those passions between myself and William that the two of us share with what my mother started.”
The Prince, who is dating the American actress Meghan Markle, also hints at his future plans, saying: “I have this love of Africa that will never disappear. And I hope it carries on with my children as well.”