So that’s it. The visit where Prince Harry met the King, after 19 months estranged from his father.
There’s no doubt it was the moment everyone was looking out for, but it was part of a trip that said so much more about Harry and where he’s at right now.
Before heading for the airport there was time for one last engagement. And one that had family at its heart.
He spent time with The Diana Award, an organisation set up in his mother’s name and a team that he’s never lost touch with. In fact, with the CEO now having his personal email address, she told me it feels like they’ve had more contact since he embarked on this new life.
In a week where all eyeballs have been on him, and who he’s seen, they were aiming for the young people helped by the charity to take centre stage, but Harry’s words of encouragement felt particularly personal and a reflection on his own journey.
“In every single young person and middle-aged person, and probably old people as well, our mental health and our emotional health through our nervous system is being tested every single day. And this proven model of being engaged with or finding your purpose with social action, it really does work” he said, adding: “My point is that if you’re a young person it can sometimes feel as though you’re lost and separated from a group and you feel isolated. But I can assure you that there’s nothing wrong with you.”
This has felt like a very different trip back for him, where he seemed less isolated. With less secrecy about what he’s been doing, there’s been a calmness to it.
It’s five years since he left, and this week felt a little bit like we were watching in action how he’s wanted this new life to play out.
It feels like his move away from the UK has given him more of a global focus to his work, but with the heaviest reminder that he still wants to make a difference to his charity partners in the UK.
Read more:
Prince Harry says King is ‘great’ after first meeting for 19 months
Meeting feels like a positive step – even if full reconciliation is likely to take time
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Talking to the young people at The Diana Award event, I heard him say on a number of occasions, “this isn’t just about charity, it’s an investment in your generation.”
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For him, this is about being actively socially engaged, showing that style of empathetic leadership and using his convening power to leverage more support for the causes he cares about. Sound familiar? It’s the same ethos I’ve heard from Prince William.
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And that’s why there was a poignancy to the last event. The Diana Award is the one organisation that he still shares with his brother, and sadly, despite the positivity of the week, the big questions over their relationship still remain. An issue that they’d both agree should be just left to them.
