Prince Harry has spent the past few days in New York, attending events close to the heart of his late mother, Princess Diana.
The Duke of Sussex participated in a HALO Trust event, a landmine clearance charity Diana supported before her passing. In 1997, she famously walked through a live minefield in Angola, advocating for a global ban.
During a panel discussion with nonprofit professionals and funders, Harry stated: “As you know, the HALO Trust work in Angola mattered a great deal to my mother. Carrying on her legacy is something I take incredibly seriously.”
He continued: “And I think we all know how much she would want us to finish this particular job. We are all here because we are a band of true believers, fighting for a mine free world.”
Additionally, Harry attended the Concordia Summit on behalf of the Diana Award, established 25 years ago to reflect his mother’s conviction that young people have the power to transform their communities, countries, and the world.
Joined by former award recipients Christina Williams and Chiara Riyanti, the prince addressed the mental health crisis affecting young people, reports the Mirror.
He expressed to them: “I know that my mum would be incredibly proud of you guys, not just you, but all of the winners, and, Tessy you’ve been in this for a very long time so thank you for that as well. But the way that you do it, your activism, your compassion, those two things are so true to how my mom led her life and what she believed in.
“And the way that you do it is incredible. So thank you.”
While on his visit to New York City, Prince Harry has been actively promoting conservation and sustainable travel initiatives, alongside advancing the efforts of The Archewell Foundation. In 2022, he confessed feeling a sense of duty to carry on his mother’s legacy “as much as possible”, acknowledging his commitment to her “unfinished” work.
Speaking to podcast host Gareth Thomas, he said: “I think once you get to meet people and you see the suffering around the world, you can’t turn, I certainly can’t turn, my back on that. Then add in the fact that my mum’s work was unfinished, I feel obligated to try and continue that as much as possible.”
Harry further stated: “I could never fill her shoes, especially in this particular space because of what she did and what she stood for and how vocal she was about this issue.”
When the Mirror polled readers on whether they believe Harry is successfully upholding Diana’s legacy, an overwhelming 82 per cent responded with a ‘No’. In our recent poll involving 1,752 participants, a significant majority of 1,444 expressed doubt that the Duke is honouring his mother’s legacy.
Critical comments from our readers included one individual noting: “If anything his never ending talk of Diana is turning people not only off, but having a negative effect on her legacy,” and another who said: “He is ruining Diana’s legacy by continually living on her name, he needs to stop.”
Others contributed their views, with a third commenting: “It’s not his legacy to continue. Diana had two sons. Harold is just keeping his name in the spotlight,” and a fourth suggesting: “Harry should show us what he can do rather than ride off his mothers coattails.”
Conversely, 18 percent back the Duke, with one supporter arguing: “Isn’t it ironic that prince Harry and princess Meghan who are not funded by the taxpayer actually do more royal work than all the taxpayer funded ones put together,” while another concurred: “Keep up the good work Harry.”
Another pointed out: “Go to Harry and Meghan’s own website and then to the Archewell Foundation part. There you will find Harry and Meghan show up, do good. In fact that is why on the Official Royal family website there is a link to Harry and Meghan’s website.”
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