Prince Harry takes part in a video presentation from African Parks for Earth Day and he gave tribute to his late grandfather, Prince Philip, hailing him as a "conservation champion."
The video, titled Hope Starts Here, is actually a re-release but this time, Harry lent his voice to narrate parts of the short clip, where he talked about why protecting biodiversity is crucial to the African community and the world.
Prince Harry said that this act of protecting nature is "vital to our way of life," and he went on to say that he feels "energized" by the examples of his grandfather to dedicate his life to saving the environment.
Prince Philip was a conservationist long before it became a trend. He was the president of the World Wildlife Fund from 1981 to 1996 and has been involved in various enviromental efforts in his six decades of royal work.
The Duke of Sussex considers Africa his second home and has spent his childhood and teenage years visiting this continent with his parents. In his youth, Harry actually planned on relocating to this region after years of going back and forth, both for public and personal trips, to help with conservation efforts.
Peter Fearnhead, the CEO of the African Parks, also released a statement following Harry's video release. He said that the "dedication and commitment" of the royal, alongside their other partners, ensures that the people living around these parks will benefit from the conservation efforts. Harry has been the president of African Parks and a Rhino Conservation Botswana patron since 2016. He and his wife, Meghan Markle, had one of their dates in Botswana at the beginning of their relationship.
Meanwhile, Harry has returned to California this week after a brief journey to London to attend his grandfather's funeral. Philip died on April 9 at 99 years old and was buried on April 17.
The funeral was "family-focused," according to the Duke of Sussex as he set aside his personal issues with his brother, Prince William, and father, Prince Charles, to properly honor Philip. Friends of the family believe that this was a good start to healing their strained relationships, however, Harry will still have a long way to go for complete reconciliation with his family.
Royal watchers who saw Prince Harry and William walk together after the funeral said they seemed so natural to be side-by-side each other. Harry has always professed that he loves and will always love his brother despite their rift and separation because they have been through so much together.
