Prince Harry pays tribute to his mother Princess Diana and his nanny Olga Powell

Home Top

OK Dad, we'll laugh at your jokes - just pardon the turkey: Sasha shows off her new glasses as she and Malia giggle at Obama's jokes this time
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani DEFENDS white Chicago cop charged with murder after shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times
Video shows 'extraordinary moment' a teen confronts a police officer by staring him down after protests erupted in Chicago
Outrage at survey which made school students rate their mother and father against each other and asked if their parents 'help poor people'
State Department says Iran NEVER SIGNED nuclear deal and it's not 'legally binding' as it tells Congress to butt out of Obama's 'political commitments'
Is this man DB Cooper? Author believes missing Michigan father of four is the legendary plane hijacker - solving the greatest Thanksgiving mystery in US history
If you're obese at 18 'it increases the risk of sudden cardiac death later in life - EVEN if you lose the weight'
Florida man who killed his wife and posted a photo of the bloody corpse on Facebook is convicted of second-degree murder
Hundreds fill Minneapolis church to lay to rest Jamar Clark as anguished family members sob over the death of the young black man who was shot dead by police
Polygamous Utah town once led by Warren Jeffs to open its first public library in DECADES
Millions of Thanksgiving travelers face tight security amid terror fears - as Obama tries to reassure the public that he knows of no 'credible threat'
Obama insists there's absolutely no Thanksgiving travel danger but says 'if you see something suspicious, say something - that's always helpful'
Iranian Supreme Leader claims US is using 'money and sex' to try and infiltrate Iran
Mind your motor manners! Iconic etiquette expert Emily Post's great-great-grandson reveals how to be the perfect passenger during your travels this holiday season
Full House star Bob Saget says his mentor Bill Cosby has been 'tarnished' by the 'despicable' things he has done
EXCLUSIVE: Porn stars, crack cocaine, private jets, HIV and me: Charlie Sheen's PA reveals the life with the out-of-control star (who had a VERY unusual use for dry skin cream)
Former boxing champion O'Neil 'Supernova' Bell dies after being shot and stabbed in armed robbery in Atlanta
White Student Union Facebook groups start springing up across the country in response to the Black Lives Matter protests on campuses
Elon Musk hits out at Jeff Bezos' 'historic' rocket claims in battle of the space billionaires
Controversial pharmaceutical entrepreneur who raised price of AIDS medication by 5,000% backs out of promise to lower prices by end of year
No crib for a bed: Moment desperate mother buys purple towels at 99 cent store moments before she abandons her newborn boy in a manger at church's nativity scene
Skateboarder, 20, kills 50-year-old man by hitting him over the head with his board in 'act of self-defense'
Forget the turkey: Researchers claim Spanish sailors celebrated the first Thanksgiving in Florida 50 years before the Pilgrims in 1621 - with salted pork and red wine
'We say Merry Christmas and God Bless America! If this offends you, LEAVE!': Sheriff posts 'politically incorrect' sign in Georgia town

Harry names rooms at Mamohato Children's Centre after mother and nanny
Prince's charity helped build home for sick children in Lesotho, Africa
The royal flies out tomorrow to officially open the ground-breaking centre
See more of the latest on Prince Harry at www.dailymail.co.uk/princeharry

Published: 16:20 EST, 25 November 2015 | Updated: 19:38 EST, 25 November 2015

View
comments

Prince Harry has paid a moving tribute to two of the most significant women in his life at a new centre for children with HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The prince has named parts of the new Mamohato Children's Centre in memory of his late mother Princess Diana, and also his beloved childhood nanny Olga Powell.

Tomorrow the royal will officially open the ground-breaking new centre which will care for and educate 1,500 children a year in the poverty-stricken kingdom of Lesotho, which despite being one of the smallest countries in the world has the second-highest rate of HIV/AIDS.

Scroll down for video

Prince Harry has paid a moving tribute to two of the most significant women in his life at a new centre for children with HIV/AIDS in Africa

The prince has named parts of the new Mamohato Children's Centre in memory of his late mother Princess Diana, and also his beloved childhood nanny Olga Powell. Picture: A young William and Harry take a carriage ride on a skiing holiday in Austria in 1993 with their mother Diana Princess of Wales (front) and Nanny Olga Powell (back)

Diana's name will live on in the dining hall, chosen because it is where the children being helped by the centre will come together three times a day

The Olga Powell Welcome Centre is something of a surprise, however, and is a sign of the invaluable part she played in William and Harry’s early lives

The centre has been funded and built in just three years by the charity Sentebale, which Harry co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho after falling in love with the country and its people when he first visited during his gap year at the age of 19.

Sentebale means ‘forget me not’ in the local dialect and was chosen in memory of Harry and Seeiso's mothers.

Diana, who did much to reduce the early stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS when she was alive, will also live on in the dining hall, chosen because it is where the children being helped by the centre will come together three times a day.

In the room, one wall is painted with a tree, with the leaves featuring the names of donors including Sir Elton John and husband David Furnish and their two young sons Elijah and Zachary.

Tomorrow (Thursday) the royal will officially open the ground-breaking new centre which will care for and educate 1,500 children a year in the poverty-stricken kingdom of Lesotho, which despite being one of the smallest countries in the world has the second-highest rate of HIV/AIDS

In Diana's dining room one wall is painted with a tree, with the leaves featuring the names of donors including Sir Elton John and husband David Furnish and their two young sons Elijah and Zacha

The Olga Powell Welcome Centre is something of a surprise, however, and is a sign of the invaluable part she played in William and Harry’s early lives.

Widowed Olga began working at Kensington Palace in 1982 when William was just six months old.

She treated the princes like her own grandchildren – although was not above giving them a clip round the ear if they were too naughty.

Olga was an oasis of stability for the brothers as their parents’ marriage began to implode and, eventually, when they decided to divorce.

Harry pictured as a young boy with his beloved mum Diana, who did much to reduce the early stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS when she was alive (left). Harry and William with nanny Olga who began working at Kensington Palace in 1982 when William was just six months old (right)

Even after she had retired, Olga continued to play a central part in William and Harry’s lives attending significant events such as William’s 21st birthday and passing out parade at Sandhurst.

Olga spent 15 years at the heart of the royal household. When she died at the age of 82, she took all of its secrets to her grave.

William cancelled a string of high-profile official engagements to attend her funeral in 2012, although he was still unable to be there as he was posted on the frontline in Afghanistan.

Speaking at the centre yesterday in advance of its opening, which Harry will fly out from London to attend, Sentebale CEO Cathy Ferrier said she discussed with Harry how they would name the buildings and the prince was keen to honour both his mother and former nanny.

She said: ‘Sentebale was started in memory of both their [Harry and Prince Seeiso's] mothers.

With 96 beds in 12 cabins, a medical block, workshop classrooms and sports field, it will provide week-long camps for 1,500 HIV positive children each year

The centre will educate the children about the importance of taking their antiretroviral drugs, to remove the stigma around their diagnosis and to help them come to terms with it

‘The centre is named after Seeiso's mother but we felt it was right to acknowledge Harry's mother as well so we decided that the dining hall was the appropriate place. It's the place where all the children will gather three times a day and do plays and drama as well, so it felt like the right kind of place.’

Of Olga Powell she added: ‘When she sadly died and they had the funeral, instead of having flowers and gifts she asked if they would donate all the money from the funeral to Sentebale.

‘She knew Harry cares hugely about it and so she cared about it too.

‘In one of the planning meetings I was having with Harry we said 'what shall we do about naming?' and we decided the welcome centre should be in memory of Olga.

‘This building is so much Harry's building, he designed the front bit, [it] was his drawing that we sent to the architect.’

Sentebale means ‘forget me not’ in the local dialect and was chosen in memory of Harry and Seeiso's mothers.

Prince Seeiso said of his and Harry’s work: 'We came to a point together because we had a similar upbringing, where we were led to believe, and made to believe, that we shouldn't look at ourselves as any different from any other kid.

'If we were born of privilege we should pay back to society in some way or another and this is why we started this project.

'There is a saying here – that a chief is a chief because of his people. That is my background and Harry bought into that from day one.

‘Princess Diana, she broke the earth in terms of breaking out of what had been done before and Harry wants to continue that.’

Small, mountainous and land-locked by South Africa, Lesotho is one of the least-developed countries in the world where more than half the population live below the poverty line and one in three children have been orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Prince Seeiso (pictured) said of his and Harry’s work: 'We came to a point together because we had a similar upbringing, where we were led to believe, and made to believe, that we shouldn't look at ourselves as any different from any other kid.'

In fact the rate of adults dying is so high that there are simply not enough adults to care for the kingdom’s children.

The Mamohato Children’s Centre will provide vulnerable young children with residential camps for youngsters aged 10 to 19 where they can learn how to manage their condition and go on to enjoy productive lives in a country where there is still a huge stigma around the disease.

After a rocky start, mired by allegations of financial mismanagement which saw only a tiny proportion of the monies raised go to deserving causes, Sentebale has thrived.

Mamohato Children’s Centre was built on time and on a budget of £2million.

With 96 beds in 12 cabins, a medical block, workshop classrooms and sports field, it will provide week-long camps for 1,500 HIV positive children each year to educate them about the importance of taking their antiretroviral drugs, to remove the stigma around their diagnosis and to help them come to terms with it.