Prince Harry Returns To Africa On Solo Trip Sans Meghan Markle

While Africa is a very special place for both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry went on his latest trip to Lesotho without his new bride, reports Hello Magazine. It is reportedly where the couple first fell in love, but on Saturday, a solo Harry opened a new building at Phelisanong Children’s Centre. He was there on behalf of his charity Sentebale, and therefore it was a private visit, which means there wasn’t an official obligation requiring the attendance of the Duchess. Photos were taken where you can see the Prince looking casual in a denim shirt and jeans as he played with local children.

“Harry first went to Lesotho in 2004 during his gap year and makes regular visits back. The kind-hearted royal even invited orphan Mutsu Potsane to his royal wedding in May, who he befriended during his very first trip when Mutsu was just four,” reports Hello Magazine. The Prince “co-founded the charity Sentebale – meaning forget me not – in 2006 with Lesotho’s Prince Seeiso in memory of their respective mothers’ work in the African kingdom, which has one of the world’s highest rate of HIV.”

Harry’s mother, the late Princess Diana, was instrumental in changing the way HIV/AIDS patients were viewed by the world. Over 30 years ago, in 1987, she helped to open the first HIV/AIDS unit at London Middlesex Hospital. She shocked the world when she shook hands with one of its patients without using gloves, noted BBC News. Princess Diana also inadvertently played a part in why Africa has such a special place in his heart. After his mother’s death, Prince Charles took Harry and his brother Prince William there to escape all of the prying eyes who wanted to see how their family was surviving in a post-Diana world.

“I first came in 1997, straight after my mum died. My dad told my brother and me to pack our bags—we were going to Africa to get away from it all. My brother and I were brought up outdoors. We appreciate the countryside; we appreciate nature and everything about it. But it became more…” he told Town & Country last year. He added that it is there that he feels most like himself because he doesn’t have to worry about being recognized. So it’s not surprising that he shared it with Meghan for their first big trip together as well as having a diamond from Botswana being included in her engagement ring, reports Hello Magazine.