The Duke of Sussex has used a speech at the United Nations to call out what he described as a “global assault on democracy and freedom”.
During a keynote speech to mark Nelson Mandela International Day, Prince Harry listed the dangers of climate change, the coronavirus pandemic, “weaponising lies and disinformation”, the war in Ukraine and even alluded to the abortion laws in the US, a topic that would have been off-limits if he was still a working member of the Royal Family.
Harry, who has longstanding personal links with the Mandela family, both personally and through his own family, was asked by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to speak at the event at United Nations General Assembly.
Watched by his wife Meghan he said: “This has been a painful year, in a painful decade.
“We’re living through a pandemic that continues to ravage communities in every corner of the globe; climate change wreaking havoc on our planet, with the most vulnerable suffering most of all; the few, weaponising lies and disinformation at the expense of the many; and from the horrific war in Ukraine to the rolling back of constitutional rights here in the United States.
“We are witnessing a global assault on democracy and freedom – the cause of Mandela’s life.”
In the passionate speech, the duke went further than he would have done on previous occasions when he used to represent the Queen and the Royal Family.
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Speaking about the climate crisis and the impact specifically on parts of Africa, he called on world leaders to act with more conviction saying: “As I speak, our world is on fire, again.
“These historic weather events are no longer historic. More and more, they are a part of our daily lives, and this crisis will only grow worse… unless our leaders lead.”
Echoing his comments across the Atlantic was his father Prince Charles, who said tackling climate change was “utterly essential” as the UK sweltered in “alarming” temperatures.
Also giving remarks – at an open-air event to mark his 70 years as Duke of Cornwall – Charles said national commitments to reach net zero had “never been more vitally important”.
“As I have tried to indicate for quite some time, the climate crisis really is a genuine emergency and tackling it is utterly essential.”
The Duke of Sussex in New York turned to his great admiration for Mandela, describing the importance to him of a photograph of the moment his mother Princess Diana met the former South African leader.
He said he still has the picture today.
“On my wall, and in my heart every day, is an image of my mother and Mandela meeting in Cape Town in 1997.
“The photo was presented to me by the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whose friendship and inspiration were their own treasured gift – my wife and I had the honour of introducing our four-month-old son to him back in 2019.
“When I first looked at the photo, straight away what jumped out was the joy on my mother’s face; the playfulness, cheekiness, even… pure delight to be in communion with another soul so committed to serving humanity.
Harry ‘sought solace’ after mother’s death
The duke continued: “Then I looked at Mandela. Here was a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, asked to heal his country from the wreckage of its past and transform it for the future.
“A man who had endured the very worst of humanity – vicious racism and state-sponsored brutality. A man who had lost 27 years with his children and family that he would never get back.”
Harry also reiterated how important Africa has been to him throughout his life and how he “sought solace” there after his mother’s death.
He said: “It’s where I’ve felt closest to my mother and sought solace after she died, and where I knew I had found a soulmate in my wife.”
There had been surprise from some of the Sussexes’ critics that Harry had been asked to address the United Nations General Assembly after the controversy surrounding his decision to leave royal life.
The couple had arrived at the UN event smiling and holding hands, and ignored a question shouted by a US reporter about biographer Tom Bower’s latest book Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War Between The Windsors.
