In a set of photos released by Kensington Palace today, July 23, it appears that Prince Harry had quite a joyous time on his private trip last month to Lesotho, Africa, engaging in various activities with locals, doing charitable acts, and smiling at any given occasion.
The Duke of Sussex’s trip had, of course, charitable intentions first and foremost, as People reports that the prince opened a school and a house on behalf of the Sentebale charity he co-founded with his friend Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006.
Harry was also set to attend a board meeting of Africa Parks, a conservation charity he supports and has worked for, in Botswana.
“The Duke was on a private visit to see the work of Sentebale at a camp for vulnerable children and young people, as well as other projects funded by the charity,” said a spokesperson for Sentebale . “During his private working visit to Sentebale in Lesotho, The Duke visited one of Sentebale’s community-led partners for the opening of a new dining hall. This was funded by the charity and will provide a space for children to eat together and have an indoor space to play.”
When not working to help bolster the infrastructure of the African nation, Harry took the opportunity to engage with the local children up close and personal at the Mamohato Children’s Centre and Mamohato Children’s Camp.
There is one particularly heartwarming photo of the set in which the prince allowed a little boy try on his sunglasses, while he wholeheartedly smiled at the child, who held a yellow balloon and donned the shades and a big smile as well for the waiting cameras.
“As always Prince Harry, not one to stand by and watch, got stuck in as the children from the Mamohato Children’s Centre and played games as part of a programme that educates and helps empower them to take control of their future,” said the photographer, Chris Jackson.
Local resident Teboho Letsoha also shared a now-viral photo of the Duke engaging in a wholesome moment with another local boy and captioned it, “My village. My people. My heart.”
“So humbled! Words cannot and will not express this insurmountable joy that a brother is feeling,” he added. “To the #Duke of #Sussex thank you #PrinceHarry.”
Africa has always been a place of great significance to the prince, who has frequently traveled to the continent since he was a young boy and has always been in love with the environment and the people. The prince himself even stated that Africa is the place where he feels “more like [himself] than anywhere in the world.” Along with his work for Sentebale, he is also the patron of Rhino Conservation Botswana .