Royal heartbreak: How Prince Harry's speech gave devastating nod to Princess Diana

The Duke of Sussex was at a formal private dinner in Chelsea, for vulnerable children’s charity Sentebale, which he founded in 2006. Speaking on the general public’s support of him, Prince Harry acknowledged: “When I lost my mum 23 years ago, you took me under your wing. “You’ve looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger than just us.”

Sentebale supports the mental health and well being of young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana, Prince Harry set up the charity after he was inspired by Princess Diana’s “legacy in supporting those effects by HIV and Aids”.

Of the charity, Harry said: “The word Sentebale means ‘forget me not’ in Sesotho and also serves aa a memory of both Prince Seism’s mother as well as my own.

“Since the beginning, we’ve developed a series of programs and created the purpose-built Mamahato centre to help a generation of children break through the stigma that is allowing the HIV epidemic to thrive.

“Half of those children had lost either one or both of their parents to the virus.”

The sweet reference to Princess Diana comes after comments Prince Harry made late last year when defending Meghan Markle from “malicious” and “relentless” coverage of his wife in an open letter on the Sussex’s official website.

He said: ”Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences.

“A ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son.”

“My deepest fear is history repeating itself,” he wrote. “I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”

READ MORE:Prince Harry breaks silence after stepping back – ‘No other option’

The upset of how Meghan has been ‘treated’ by the media, is what was said to have caused the Sussex’s to step down as senior royals.

In a statement released by the Queen, she announced that Megxit plans are finalised and that the Sussexes would now live an “independent life.”

“Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.

“I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.

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“Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.

“I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.

“It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.”

Meghan and Prince Harry will remain Duke and Duchess of Sussex and will be individually styled as Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Harry will lose his military patronages and will no longer serve as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, representing the Queen.

The changes will come into effect from the Spring and they will carry out further royal engagements in the UK before then.

They will split their time between the UK and North America with the majority of their time being spent in North America.

The Prince of Wales will continue to offer “private financial support” to the couple, which may not necessarily be from his Duchy of Cornwall income.