Prince Harry Says Africa Is "In His Soul"

Prince Harry is opening up about the many reasons why the continent of Africa means so much to him.

On April 11, during a panel discussion titled "Potential is Waiting" held at the restaurant Zaytinya in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in South Beach, Florida, the Duke of Sussex said "Africa's in my heart, and Africa's in my soul."

"I first went there when I was 12, 13 years old, and after so many years, I wanted to give back to it because it had given me so much," the prince continued. "The vast open space, the cultures, the community, the people, the wildlife, just the freedom was a huge piece of why I loved Africa so much."

The panel discussion was held as part of a charity event co-founded by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, with the goal of helping children and young people living in Lesotho and Botswana negatively affected by poverty, inequality and HIV/AIDS.

The April 11 conversation focused primarily on the various ways in which funds can be distributed to best support the next generation as they continue to grow up and live in the southern region of the continent.

For the uninitiated, Sentebale—the name of the charity Prince Harry co-founded—translates to “forget-me-not” in the country's national language. Forget-me-not flowers were also the late Princess Diana's favorite, People reports.

"It's really focused on ensuring that the younger generation are quite literally not forgotten," Prince Harry continued during the panel discussion. "At the heart of Sentebale, what we've always believed, is that every single young person should have a chance at a better future."

The continent of Africa has played a major role in Prince Harry's life. Not only did the prince make multiple trips as a child and young adult, as he discussed on the panel, but he took his wife, Meghan Markle, to Botswana for the couple's third official date in 2016.

“I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana. We camped out with each other under the stars. She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic,” Harry said after the couple announced their engagement. “So then we were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me to make sure that we had a chance to know each other.”