Prince Harry has spoken about the ‘challenges of digging deep to find resilience’ during the Covid-19 crisis in a new video message for his Sentebale charity.
The Duke of Sussex, 35, shared the video from Tyler Perry’s $18 million mansion where he is currently living, having stepped back from royal duty in March.
In the video, which was shared on Twitter today for the Opening Ceremony of the AIDS 2020 Conference, the royal said: ‘This years theme is resilience, something all of us around the globe have understood, specifically in recent months. For many, digging deep to find that resilience has been a challenging experience.’
He went on to praise young people who he said had ‘not just pushed back, but bounced back’ and called them ‘the personification of resilience.’
Despite stepping back from royal life, the Duke has been permitted to continue to work with his patronages and charities like Sentebale, which supports youngsters with HIV.
Prince Harry, 35, spoke about the ‘challenges of digging deep to find resilience’ over the last few months in a speech shared with the Opening Ceremony of the AIDS 2020 Conference
The video message was released on Sentebale’s official Twitter page, alongside the caption: ‘Watch Sentebale’s Co-Founding Patron, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, discuss what resilience means to him and the young people living with, or affected by HIV, he supports via Sentebale, during the Opening Ceremony of the AIDS 2020 Conference.’
In the clip, Prince Harry, who appeared to be standing in the grounds of Tyler Perry’s LA mansion, revealed: ‘For those who have been affected by HIV and AIDS, the examples of resilience within one’s self and the community, have been felt and fostered for decades.
‘At Sentebale we see the resilience of young people every single day, which is why I’ve been inspired each day, since founding the non-profit organisation with Prince Seesio in 2006.’
‘As you’re about to see, these young people are about to speak out, chasing justice, as role models to their peers, support HIV prevention and challenge limiting systems in the hope of a more inclusive and accepting environment for all.’
The Duke of Sussex has been permitted to continue to work with his patronages and charities like Sentebale, which he founded in 2004 with Prince Seeiso, and supports youngsters with HIV (pictured, Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso in 2016)
He continued: ‘And when they face set-backs, they not only push back, but bounce back.
‘They are resilience personified. We all succeed when they are empowered.’
Prince Harry co-founded the charity Sentebale – meaning ‘forget me not’ – with Prince Seeiso in 2006 to improve prospects for the thousands of children and young people affected by HIV/Aids in the landlocked African country.
It has since delivered adolescent-friendly HIV testing and counselling services to more than 21,000 people.
The Duke appeared to be speaking from the grounds of Tyler Perry’s $18 million LA mansion (pictured), where he has been living with Meghan and their son Archie, one, since stepping back from royal duty in March
The Duke, who appeared to be speaking from the grounds of Tyler Perry’s $18 million mansion, praised youngsters who had ‘not just pushed back, but bounced back’
Harry first visited Lesotho in 2004, while shadowed by broadcaster Tom Bradby.
He and Prince Seeiso have since appeared at numerous events together, including a concert held at Kensington Palace in 2016 on behalf of Sentebale.
In January, the Duke made an emotional speech during a formal private dinner at the Ivy in Chelsea for Sentebale about his decision to walk away from royal duty with Meghan Markle, 38.
The royal spoken of his ‘great sadness’ at leaving the Royal Family and said he and Meghan had ‘no other option’ than to quit senior royal duties – but vowed the couple are ‘not just walking away’.
In January, the Duke made an emotional speech at a dinner for the charity about his decision to leave the royal family
The new video comes after the royal faced criticism after he appeared to take a swipe at the British Empire by saying the history of the Commonwealth ‘must be acknowledged’, even if it’s ‘uncomfortable’.
The Duke made the comment as he joined wife Meghan for a video call with young leaders from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust last week that was made public yesterday.
As part of the discussion on ‘justice and equal rights’, Harry said the Commonwealth needs to follow others who have ‘acknowledged the past’ and are ‘trying to right their wrongs’, and also admitted to having his own ‘unconscious bias’.
Meanwhile Meghan said it is also a time of ‘reckoning’ when individuals should be putting their hands up to ‘own’ their past wrongdoings.
The video comes after Prince Harry risked upsetting the royal family by insisting the Commonwealth ‘must acknowledge the past’ in a video call with Meghan Markle and young leaders from across the Commonwealth. Pictured, Chrisann Jarrett (UK) (top left), Mike Omoniyi (UK), (top right), Alicia Wallace (Bahamas) (bottom left) and Abdullahi Alim (Australia) (bottom right
The Duke made the comment as he joined wife Meghan for a video call with young leaders from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust last week
Speaking from his Los Angeles home, Harry, whose grandmother the Queen is head of the Commonwealth, said: ‘When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past.
‘So many people have done such an incredible job of acknowledging the past and trying to right those wrongs, but I think we all acknowledge there is so much more still to do.’
The statement appears to be a swipe at the British Empire, which was ruled over by his ancestors and led to the creation of the Commonwealth, and goes against protocol of royals not wading into politics.
The intervention was criticised by Tory MP Andrew Rosindell, who told MailOnline Prince Harry’s comments were ‘disappointing’ and would not ‘please’ the Queen.