Prince Harryis grateful to be back in Africa — a place that helped the prince cope after the death of his motherPrincess Dianain 1997.
As hearrived in Botswana on Thursday, he revealed that the continent helped him “get away from it all” during the difficult time.
“I came here in 1997, 1998 straight after my mom died, so it was a nice place to get away from it all,” he told reporters. “But now I feel deeply connected to this place and to Africa.”
He added that being in Botswana – where he sourced two of the stones for wifeMeghan Markle’sthree-stone engagement ring(the other stone came from Diana’s personal collection) – gave him “a sense of escapism . . . a real sense of purpose.”
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Harry also used the occasion on Thursday to underline his concerns about the environmental crisis affecting the world, calling it a “race against time.”
Prince Harry.Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA Images
Prince Harry.Dominic Lipinski/PA Images
“Science and facts that have been around the last 30 nearly 40 years and it’s only getting stronger and stronger.
“Genuinely I don’t understand how anyone in this world, whoever we are, you, us, children, leaders, whoever it is, no one can deny science otherwise we live in a very, very troubling world.”
Earlier in the day, Harry took part in a tree planting ceremony, as he helped create a new forest habitat on the banks of Botswana’s Chobe River. One of the trees was a 30-foot Baobab tree that he and a group of men had to force upright before packing soil around the trunk.
Prince Harry.PA Wire/PA Images
He then joined some schoolchildren in planting mahogany trees and crouched down with one young boy to help him with the sapling – and they marked their success with a high-five.
After Botswana, he heads to Angola and Malwai before joining Meghan and Archie in Johannesburg to finish out the tour.
source: people.com
