Prince Harry speaks Sesotho and says he is ‘terrified’ for his kids
Prince Harry has shown off his language skills by speaking Sesotho, while revealing how climate change leaves him ‘terrified’ for his children Archie and Lilibet.
He also branded tourism a ‘double-edged sword’ which can harm communities as he continued his recent blitz of solo appearances while wife Meghan remains at home.
The Duke of Sussex has also been speaking about his concerns about the potential harmful impact of both climate change and social media on youngsters including Archie, five, and three-year-old Lilibet.
His latest appearances yesterday included events in New York showcasing two of his initiatives, one supporting the southern African country of Lesotho and another promoting his sustainable tourism charity.
He has been attending at a series of gatherings in the US east coast city this week, as part of an eight-day trip, while his wife Meghan and their children are at home in Montecito, California.
Prince Harry has been speaking of his love for Lesotho – and addressing guests in both English and Sesotho – at an event held at the United Nations HQ in New York on September 24
Harry is pictured during his first visit to Lesotho as a 19-year-old, in March 2004
He also on Tuesday addressed an audience about the ‘terrifying’ impact of climate change as he marked the fifth anniversary of his sustainable tourism organisation Travalyst
Speaking alongside members of Lesotho’s royal family at the United Nations HQ, Harry told how his charity Sentebale’s name came from the country’s Sesotho language – meaning ‘Forget me not’.
He had begun by saying in English, ‘Your Majesty, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests and friends’ – and then repeating the greeting in Sesotho: ‘Morena, basali le bahlomphehi, baeti ba hlomphehang le metsoalle.’
He recalled first visiting Lesotho during a gap year in 2024 between leaving Eton and starting at Sandhurst military academy, as he spoke alongside fellow delegates including the country’s King Letsie III and Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso.
Harry, 40, said: ‘The Lesotho royal family, as well as Lesotho itself, has been a pillar of strength for me over the last 20 years, welcoming me with open arms and such kindness.
‘The beautiful mountain kingdom feels like a home away from home.
‘That friendship has only grown stronger as we’ve worked together to tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing the Lesotho people and the wider world.’
Harry told of helping to set up Sentebale two years after his first visit, adding: ‘The charity was founded in honour of our mothers and symbolises our pledge to always remember and advocate for the most vulnerable among us.
‘Our mission at Sentebale is simple yet incredibly important – to help vulnerable children and young people across Lesotho and Botswana to access vital health services, receive care and support, and develop the life skills necessary to thrive.
‘By focusing on the youth we’re breaking generational cycles of trauma and outdated beliefs.’
Harry is pictured with his wife Meghan, who has not with him on his current New York trip
Then, in a later speech at Climate Week NYC, he spoke further about his concerns for young people as he helped mark the fifth anniversary of his not-for-profit organisation Travalyst as he warned about the effects of the environment of international travel.
He told the audience there: ‘I’ve seen first hand how travel and tourism can be a double-edged sword, both a force that has the potential to do tremendous good or, if mismanaged, inflict significant harm.
‘These experiences, as well as years of conversation and debate around campfires with experts that I’m proud to call friends, have shaped my understanding of the critical bond between people, wildlife, and the environment we share.
‘We’re expecting 1.8billion international arrivals each year, nearly double the numbers we saw just two decades ago.
‘That kind of growth can only be sustainable if we prioritise not just profit, but people and places too.’
And he laid out stark figures about the climate change which have left him fearful for young people such as his own son and daughter.
The prince told how the world experienced the hottest day on record on July 22 this year.
He added: ‘Somebody born in 2020 is likely to experience eight times the number of heatwaves, four times the number of droughts, three times the number of crop failures and three times the number of river floods than a person born in 1960.
‘As a father of two children, that’s absolutely terrifying.
The Duke of Sussex set up sustainable tourism organisation Travalyst five years ago and addressed an event promoting its work on Tuesday afternoon
He spoke of his concerns about climate change, calling it ‘terrifying’ – nodding to his own children including Archie, now five, pictured here as a baby with his parents
Harry and Meghan also have a daughter, three-year-old Lilibet – seen here in a photo released to mark her first birthday in June 2022
‘The level of suffering is heartbreaking and the cumulative cost of recovery has us permanently on the back foot.
‘It also shows the vital need to take a systems approach to ensure we focus on the root cause and not the symptoms that is going to require all of us pushing in the same direction.’
Harry said Travalyst and its partners represent a combined market value of almost $3trillion dollars, or £2.23 trillion.
He added that it was committed to using the funds to ‘ensure that travel not only sustains communities but helps them thrive’.
Its partners include the travel brands Amadeus, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Sabre, Skyscanner, Travelport, Trip.com Group and Tripadvisor, as well as Google, Mastercard and Visa.
Travalyst said it has ‘scaled emissions estimates’ for flights across billions of searches on major booking platforms to help people fly with lower emissions.
It is also working on a similar project in the accommodation sector and wants to look at rail, activities and destinations in the future.
Harry had discussed mental health and climate change with two young winners of a legacy award given in memory of his mother Princess Diana on Monday.
Prince Harry, seen at Tuesday’s Travalyst event, is on an eight-day trip to New York
On Monday he took the stage alongside recipients of the The Diana Award at the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit: Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang and Christina Williams
Harry, seen at the Travalust event on Tuesday, spoke about how tourism can be a ‘double-edged sword’ which can harm communities as well as bringing benefits
Before taking to that platform, the King’s youngest son FaceTimed his wife, Meghan Markle, 43, Archie and Lilibet, according to People magazine.
The publication wrote that Harry reportedly showcased the room to his family, giving them a little tour of the hotel space before taking part in the 14th Concordia Annual Summit in support of The Diana Award.
‘Backstage, he was actually calling Meghan. I thought that was just so sweet, and it helped humanise him,’ Diana Legacy Award winner Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang, 18, who joined Harry for the panel discussion on mental health, told the publication.
And at a 2024 Clinton Global Initiative event, Harry joked about his misspent youth and spoke of his love for Archie and Lilibet, in a plea to better protect children from the ‘harm’ caused by social media.
He said: ‘Some say kids will be kids and well, that may well be true. Kids may get into trouble. I know a thing or two about that. But our kids are being targeted. The harmful effects of social media are made by design.
‘These platforms are designed to create addiction. Young people are kept there by mindless, endless, numbing, scrolling, being force fed content that no child should ever be exposed to.’
The prince’s latest activities come as members of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s staff rallied to their defence following recent complaints about employees’ alleged treatment by Meghan.
Current and former staff intervened in friendly American media, describing the couple as ‘caring’ bosses who give staff their children’s old baby clothes, fresh flowers and ‘care packages’.
Former members of staff working for Meghan Markle have rallied to her defence this week after she faced recent allegations of treating employees badly
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, pictured during the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in the German city Dusseldorf in September last year, have been defended in US Weekly
It follows recent reports in industry heavyweight the Hollywood Reporter that so-called ‘Duchess Difficult’ had reduced grown men to tears as she ‘barks’ out orders.
Josh Kettler, Harry’s chief of staff who left after just three months in August, has now insisted to US Weekly he was ‘warmly welcomed’ by both Harry and Meghan and described them as ‘dedicated and hardworking‘.
And Ben Browning, Archewell’s former head of content – who was responsible for their tell-all Netflix documentary but then left before the end of his contract – said his experience at the company and with Meghan and Harry in general ‘was positive and supportive’.
The duchess herself has always strongly denied claims of bullying staff, particularly in the UK, claiming they were part of a ‘calculated smear campaign’ against her.
