Prince Harry will mark his 18th birthday this Sunday by making a series of public charity visits in honour of his mother, the late Princess Diana, it was confirmed on Monday.
A royal insider revealed that the tribute, which takes place five years after the Princess’ death in a Paris car crash, was the teenage royal’s own idea, with “the encouragement and blessing of Prince Charles”. “It has come from within Harry and is also something he wants to do to make sure people remember all his mother did for so many organisations. Diana’s memory is obviously terribly important to him.”
A royal spokeswoman says Harry has been “upset” by some stories about his mother in recent months and wants to reflect the positive aspects of Diana, who was famed for her work with anti-landmine, children’s and AIDS charities. “This is his way of reminding people of all the good things she did in her life,” added the representative.
Although Harry’s itinerary has not yet been released, he is expected to visit Great Ormond Street children’s hospital in central London where Diana was president, and will likely join his brother and father for AIDS charity dinner in November. The 17-year-old prince will join his father on Wednesday for a service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London marking the September 11 attacks.
(For our royal correspondent's in-depth report on Prince Harry, and pictures of the youngster growing up, see the new issue of HELLO!, No 731)
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
