WATCH: Prince Harry meets the Arch
His Royal Highness Prince Harry and Archbishop Emeritus, despite a yawning age gap, chatted like old friends on Monday morning when they sat down for a cup of tea in Cape Town.
The meeting at the V & A Waterfront saw the young royal award Tutu, fondly known as “the Arch”, the Order of Companion of Honour on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
Prince Harry and the archbishop emeritus laughed like old friends when they met at the V & A Waterfront this morning. Prince Harry awarded Tutu the Order of Companion of Honour on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
British High Commissioner Nicola Brewer said the award was in recognition of “a lifetime service to peace, reconciliation, human rights all around the world and in Africa”.
Other recipients of the award include physicist and author Stephen Hawking and naturalist and television presenter David Attenborough.
Tutu, upon receiving the award, said: “I’ve been greatly touched.”
“If we stand out from the crowd, it is only because we are on the shoulders of others,” he said.
And in his inimitable style, the Arch added: “I met the Queen earlier this year… is that now serious name dropping?”
Foreign and local media pressed in as the Arch and Prince Harry met on the balcony on the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation offices at the Waterfront.
The two men share a common interest in neighbouring Lesotho with Tutu telling the prince: “I became Bishop in Lesotho.”
“Well, we’ve got to get you back, ” Prince Harry, who runs a charity to benefit vulnerable children in Lesotho, replied.
The engagement was the first official fixture of Prince Harry’s four-day tour of South Africa. He was set to spend the rest of Monday visiting youth empowerment initiatives around the Cape peninsula.
He had already visited the Sentebale charity in Lesotho and on Saturday played polo at the Val de Vie estate in Paarl where he caused quite a stir when he was photographed taking a tumble from his pony.
The occasion was the sixth Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup and Harry was joined by Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to raise money for the charity.
The royal is set to continue on to Durban, the Kruger National Park, and then Johannesburg as part of his visit. - ANA
(Photo: The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation)