Royal | News - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Despite Prince Harry’s jam-packed itinerary in New York City this week for a series of philanthropic engagements and charitable work, his thoughts were well and clearly with his family back home.
Before jumping on stage at the Concordia Annual Summit 2024, the Duke of Sussex, 40, FaceTimed his wife, Meghan Markle, and two children, Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.
After the call back home, Harry promptly took to the stage for a Diana Award event on September 23 to speak about the importance of mental wellness and climate action. During the panel event, Harry was joined by the charity’s chief executive Tessy Ojo and two winners of the Diana Legacy Award, Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang, 18, from Indonesia, and Christina Williams, 27, from Jamaica.
Award winner Zhang, described Harry’s family moment to People Magazine: “He is just so kind-hearted. Not only was he helping us get comfortable with speaking on stage, but he comforted us after as well. And backstage, he was actually calling Meghan. I thought that was just so sweet, and it helped humanize him. He made sure we had no nerves at all.”
Harry also had time to quickly pan the camera around the room to show his family the event space hosted by Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel.
Award winner Williams also felt Harry’s actions showed he “really cares” about young people and their actions, explaining they had come from the event “maintaining admiration” for the Prince.
Wearing a gold Diana Award badge on the lapel of his dark suit, the King’s youngest son spoke about the importance of mental wellness at a panel event where participants talked about climate anxiety.
Discussing mental awareness, Harry said: “It affects every single one of us, from the top to bottom, from the youngest to the oldest. And I think you guys are leading the charge in hopefully being able to break down the stigma to be able to continue these conversations.”
Harry and Meghan have both previously kept their children in mind when out and about on royal engagements away from home.
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Canada for the Invictus Games’ One Year to Go event in February this year, Meghan memorably took photos on her phone of Harry trying to adaptive ski to “show the kids.”
Harry followed the panel discussion by attending an with the Halo Trust, the landmine clearance charity supported by Diana, and attending a private engagement with conservation group African Parks.
The Duke’s trip started with a dinner organised by the World Health Organization on Sunday night, where he warmly greeted Queen Mathilde of Belgium and chatted with other dignitaries, UN Agency Heads at an event which focused on violence against children.
Later today, Harry will discuss finding solutions to global challenges with former US president Bill Clinton, his daughter Chelsea Clinton, WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, US broadcaster Katie Couric and primatologist Jane Goodall.
Other events on September 24 see the duke focus on Lesotho, the southern African country where he set up his Sentebale charity, and a focus on the Travalyst organisation, which aims to encourage the tourism sector to become more sustainable.