Prince Harry references Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth during whirlwind US trip

Prince Harry continued a busy stretch of appearances in the United States this week, speaking at multiple high-profile events in New York City during United Nations General Assembly week. The trip comes just weeks after he relocated his family to the UK. 

On Wednesday, Prince Harry spoke at the Skift Global Forum, an annual gathering focused on the future of the travel industry. During his remarks, he reflected on his lifelong connection to travel, joking that his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth, was often the reason he ended up visiting far-flung corners of the world growing up.

“I’ve been lucky enough to travel to, I think, probably all corners of the world, sent by my grandmother,” he said with a laugh. Turning serious, the Duke of Sussex then admitted the worldwide exposure helped open his eyes to the importance of conservation and global community.

He also spoke about his late mother, Princess Diana, describing how travel to places like Botswana's Okavango Delta helped him process grief and better understand humanity's connection to the natural world. 

“I first traveled there shortly after my mother’s death, and over the years I’ve continued to understand the Okavango not simply as an extraordinary place to visit,” he shared, “but as a living system that sustains wildlife, communities and livelihoods.”

He explained that he first visited the region shortly after Diana's death in 1997, and that over time, he's come to see it not just as a travel destination, but as a living ecosystem that sustains wildlife and local communities alike.

“That description captures something that we can easily forget when we talk about destinations as an industry. These places are not simply somewhere to travel to. They are home.”

Prince Harry has remained active in the travel and conservation space for years through Travalyst, a nonprofit he founded in 2019 to promote sustainable tourism practices worldwide, where he continues to serve as founder and patron.

Earlier the same day, Prince Harry also spoke at the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting, making remarks on the risks technology and artificial intelligence pose to children, a cause he and wife Meghan Markle have long championed.