Leaving his wife Meghan Markle and their four-month-old son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in South Africa, the Prince Harry kicked off the second leg of the official tour in Botswana today, where he shared some details of why he holds the country so dear.
WATCH: Harry talks about escaping to Africa after his mother’s death.
“Fifteen years I’ve been coming here, it’s a sense of escapism, a real sense of purpose,” he told Sky News reporters.
“I have some of my closest friends here and I came here in 1997 or 1998 straight after my mum died, so it was a nice place to get away from it all. But now I feel deeply connected to this place and to Africa.”
The Duke of Sussex began his day in Botswana by helping a group of locals plant a 10-metre tall tree as part of an effort to create a new forest habitat on the banks of the Chobe River.
Harry also helped a group of schoolchildren to plant mahogany tree saplings as part of a project to turn land that was once privately owned but has now been pledged to the local community into a nature and cultural reserve.
The project is being spearheaded by Elephant Without Borders, a conservation group founded by Harry’s close friend Dr Mike Chase, along with another local organisation.
It’s only the fourth day of the royal family’s 10-day tour of the area, but already Harry, Meghan and little Archie have caused quite a stir both in South Africa and around the world.
Archie, in particular, has stolen hearts globally after he made his tour debut on a visit to Archbishop Desmond Tutu on September 25 – and his parents gave us our first close-up view of the youngest royal, showing off his remarkable resemblance to his dad when he was a tot!
Taking to Instagram earlier in the day, the Duke and Duchess also shared a sweet video of themselves taking their son to meet the archbishop.
Dressed in a pastel blue romper paired with a white long-sleeved undershirt, Archie looked absolutely adorable (no surprises there!). And in a move that took his cuteness even further, the bub – born on May 6 this year – gave the camera a big smile as the family-of-three turn the corner and make for the stairs, where their welcoming party was waiting.
The couple have had no trouble showing off their love for each other while on tour, either, with body language experts weighing in to say that the pair look like they’re still very much in the honeymoon period.
Judi James told Express.co.uk: “It’s pretty safe to evaluate, from their loving and affectionate body language, that the couple are still effectively on their honeymoon.”
“If anything, their touches, and romantic, caring rituals, have become stronger – rather than showing any signs of cooling off.”
Harry has been spotted with his hand on Meghan’s on several occasions as they arrived at the beach to meet members of the Waves for Change charity on Monwabisi beach.
James continued: “The subtle, thoughtful ponytail smoothing while Meghan was busy talking with her hosts is one of the strongest tie-sign rituals, with Harry communicating caring and affectionate attention to his wife even though his attention is diverted behind her.”
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