Amidst a fraught time for the royal family — with King Charles III‘ cancer battle, Princess Kate Middleton‘s extended absence and rampant speculation —, Prince Harry honored his late mother Princess Diana’s legacy at the annual charitable awards ceremony in her honor.
“My mum would be incredibly proud of all of the work that you’ve done, I’m incredibly proud and thank you for doing everything that you do.” Harry, 39, told honorees at the Diana Legacy Awards in a Thursday, March 14, video conference. “I’m sorry I can’t be there. I wish I could be there with you guys.”
The Diana Legacy Awards took place in London, where the winners received a virtual message from Harry, who lives far across the pond in California.
“The future’s yours and you’re helping to shape that future,” the Duke of Sussex added. “Enjoy the rest of your evening if that’s what you plan to do. Don’t get in too much trouble if you’re continuing to go on. And thank you very much for inspiring so many others and at the same time protecting my mother’s legacy. I really appreciate that.”
Harry’s older brother, Prince William, was present in person on Thursday to present the trophies. In addition to handing out the awards, William, 41, remembered Diana in a moving speech. (Diana, who shared her two sons with ex-husband King Charles III, died in 1997 after a fatal car crash at the age of 36.)
“I know that she would have been honored to see a charity in her name doing such inspirational work to uplift young people from all corners of the globe,” William said on Thursday. “She taught me that everyone has the potential to give something back, that everyone in need deserves a supporting hand in life. I am so proud to see this belief of my mother’s manifested in the amazing young people receiving the Legacy Award tonight.”
The Diana Awards is the only charitable organization that is associated with Diana. Every year, the organization honors 20 recipients as Legacy Award winners. Both William and Harry have frequently made in-person or virtual appearances at the ceremony.
While the brothers have long memorialized their mother, they have been at odds since 2019. Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, subsequently left their jobs as senior working royals in 2020 and moved to California. Their relationship with William has remained frosty, even claiming that the Prince of Wales planted unkind news stories about Meghan, 42.
William has never publicly responded to the accusations, though a source told Us Weekly in February 2023 that the damage has been irreparable.
“William feels that Harry is all smoke and mirrors and is not to be trusted. He’s trying to move on with his life,” the insider said, noting that “there has been a massive breach of trust.”
