The sentimental meaning behind Prince Harry’s bracelet
You may have noticed a recurring feature in Prince Harry’s attire as he tours Australia with wife Duchess Meghan. It’s popped up in images of the Duke of Sussex for years, and it has a very poignant backstory attached to it.
Prince Harry wears the silver bracelet in memory of his late mother Princess Diana, and, movingly, it can be seen on his wrist in his wedding photos with Meghan. The 34-year-old has worn it for some 20 years.
It’s thought that Prince Harry got the bracelet in Africa on a trip with his father Prince Charles, and brother Prince William, after the tragic death in August 1997 of his mother Princess Diana, reports news.com.au.
"I first came in 1997, straight after my mum died,” he told Town & Country last year on an animal conservation effort in the country.
“My dad told my brother and me to pack our bags – we were going to Africa to get away from it all.”
The Prince developed an affinity for Africa finding solace there, describing his visits as "like being plugged into the earth. You leave this place with a real appreciation of what it means to be alive".
"This is where I feel more like myself than anywhere else in the world. I wish I could spend more time in Africa. I have this intense sense of complete relaxation and normality here. To not get recognised, to lose myself in the bush with what I would call the most down-to-earth people on the planet.”
Of course, Africa also holds a special place in Prince Harry’s heart as it was in Botswana that he and Duchess Meghan enjoyed a romantic holiday together, just four weeks after their first date.
The Duchess of Sussex has also paid tribute to Princess Diana with jewellery on the couple’s Australian tour, according to news.com.au. She wore some of the late royal’s most prized pieces at Admiralty House in Sydney on their first official engagement, wearing Princess Diana’s butterfly earrings and matching bracelet.