It's easy to see why Meghan Markle fell for Prince Harry. The British royal has a welcoming presence that he inherited from his late mother, according to Sir Elton John. The Grammy-winning musician, who was a friend of Princess Diana, chatted with HELLO! on Tuesday at his annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Gala in New York, where the Candle in the Wind singer was honoured for his achievements as a philanthropist and humanitarian.
"People love [Harry]. He's young and he's got his mother's ability to talk to people and make people feel at ease. Make them feel loved. Make them feel important and that's a wonderful gift to have," Elton John said. "It's a very rare gift. He's inherited it from his mother and he's using it to good use."
Prince Harry inherited a "rare gift" from his mother, Sir Elton John said Photo: Georges De Keerle/Getty Images
Like Elton John, Harry has continued his mother's mission to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS. The 70-year-old pianist and the Queen's grandson, 33, have teamed up in the past to bring attention to the disease affecting young people. Having Prince Harry champion Elton John and husband David Furnish's crusade to de-stigmatize the disease has admittedly helped their cause. "[It's] fantastic because the newest rise in infections is amongst young people. It's among adolescents," David said. "[Harry] speaks to young people. I don't," Elton John noted, to which his husband added, "Prince Harry can connect with them."
Sir Elton John and David Furnish attended the Elton John AIDS Foundation Gala presented by Clase Azul Tequila in New York on 7 November Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images
The Elton John AIDS Foundation celebrated its 25th year at its New York gala on Tuesday, 7 November. A number of stars including Sting, Billy Joel, Hilaria Baldwin, Glenn Close and more came out to pay tribute to the foundation's famous founder for his philanthropic endeavors and humanitarian work. "I'm not very good at receiving awards. There's still so much work to be done. Give me an award when it's all over. It's very nice. I'm very proud of the foundation. I'm very proud of what we've achieved," Elton John said. "Hopefully in another ten years this will be over. We have the medicine to make this disease go away, we just have to make the stigma go away and pull people together as a human entity."