Prince Harry and Meghan are filling his mother’s shoes
The couple have shown themselves to be strong supporters of charity and lend their presence to many efforts to improve the lives of the less fortunate.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex watch dance performers as they arrive for a visit to “Justice desk”, an NGO in the township of Nyanga in Cape Town, as they begin their tour of the region on September 23, 2019. Picture: Betram MALGAS / POOL / AFP
In 1947, when the British royal family, King George VI, his wife (later the queen mother) and their daughters Elizabeth (now queen) and Margaret visited South Africa, they drew record crowds of cheering, waving people.
In effect, they were the rock stars of their day, especially in the former colony on the edge of Africa.
Not everyone was impressed. Apartheid architect Hendrik Verwoerd was then editor of Die Transvaler, rabid mouthpiece of the National Party, which would take power a year later.
Verwoerd refused to cover the royal visit, other than to place a warning about traffic disruption in Johannesburg because of the presence of “a certain Mr and Mrs Windsor”.
South Africans are still fascinated by the royals, shown this week by the interest in the doings of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan.
Harry is much loved because he is a son of the “People’s Princess”, Diana … and walks a different path to previous royals, as evidenced by his marrying a woman who is “not white”.
But the couple have also shown themselves to be strong supporters of charity and lend their presence to many efforts to improve the lives of the less fortunate.
They are continuing Diana’s work. And that’s worth watching.
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