Prince Harry revealed that he has a picture of his late mother Princess Diana and Nelson Mandela hanging on his wall during a visit to the United Nations alongside his wife Meghan Markle.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in New York City on Monday 18 July and were photographed walking hand-in-hand as they entered the UN. Prince Harry was scheduled to deliver a special address in honour of Nelson Mandela Day.
For the occasion, the duchess wore a black midi dress and a black Mulberry Bayswater tote while Prince Harry opted for a simple navy suit and tie.
Prince Harry addressed the UN after New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke and took the opportunity to share the details of a special photo he has of his mother and Mandela.
“We’ve also come to know him through the photographs of a person who, even when confronting unimaginable cruelty and injustice, almost always had a smile on his face. For me, there’s one photo in particular that stands out,” Prince Harry told the assembly. “ On my wall, and in my heart every day, is an image of my mother and Mandela meeting in Cape Town in 1997.”
According to Prince Harry, the photo was given to him by the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who he and Meghan met, alongside their son Archie, in 2019.
Prince Harry also shared that when he first looked at the photo, “straight away what jumped out was the joy on my mother’s face”.
“The playfulness, cheekiness, even. Pure delight to be in communion with another soul so committed to serving humanity,” he said. “Then I looked at Mandela. Here was a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, asked to heal his country from the wreckage of its past and transform it for the future.
“A man who had endured the very worst of humanity, vicious racism and state-sponsored brutality. A man who had lost 27 years with his children and family that he would never get back. 27 years. Yet, in that photo and so many others, he is still beaming. Still able to see the goodness in humanity. Still buoyant with a beautiful spirit that lifted everyone around him.”
Elsewhere in the speech, Prince Harry addressed the “pivotal moment” the world is currently in and cited the “multiple converging crises” that “have given way to an endless string of injustices”. According to Prince Harry, the consequences are being felt “more deeply across the continent of Africa,” where he noted the pandemic, inflation, and war have led to a “fuel and food crisis”.
After urging world leaders to act while imploring ordinary people around the world to keep fighting and “find meaning and purpose in the struggle,” the duke reflected on his own relationship with Africa. He said the country is where he has felt closest to his mother and where he “knew” he had “found a soulmate in my wife”.
“Since I first visited Africa at 13 years old, I’ve always found hope on the continent. In fact, for most of my life, it has been my lifeline, a place where I have found peace and healing time and time again. It’s where I’ve felt closest to my mother and sought solace after she died, and where I knew I had found a soulmate in my wife,” he said.
The late Princess Diana was known for her charitable work and famously advocated against landmines in Bosnia and Angola shortly before her death. Prince Harry has followed in his mother’s footsteps, having travelled to Africa several times with his wife. One of his and Meghan Markle’s first dates was to Botswana, where Meghan assisted Prince Harry in conservation efforts with elephants. During the couple’s tour to Africa in 2019, they also met with Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel.
The duke and duchess last visited New York City in November 2021, when they attended an event to honour veterans ahead of Veterans Day in the US. They previously visited in September that same year to see the World Trade Center and appear on stage at Global Citizen Live in Central Park.
