By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter
Prince Harry has described how his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales inspires him in "everything I do" and serves as his "role model" in his work with children orphaned by Aids.
Speaking ahead of an awards ceremony in Berlin where he was due to be honoured for his charity work in Lesotho, one of the world’s poorest countries, he said he hoped his mother would have been "proud" of what he does.
The 26-year-old Prince said: "I always think of my mother in everything I do. I hope she would be proud of my work. My brother and I often ask ourselves: what would our mother have done in this situation?
"That helps us again and again. But I learned also enormously from my father who has been engaged with numerous charities for decades.
"My mother was to me, like my brother, a role model. And also to many people worldwide. I believe people took to her so warmly because she possessed the ability to take away their embarrassment in whatever situation she met them in. She was immediately sympathetic.
"Exactly like her, I know that I enjoy a privileged position as a member of the royal family and I must use what was given to me to try to make a difference in important topics."
The Prince, who is in Berlin to accept a Golden Heart award at the A Heart for Children gala, set up his Sentebale charity in 2006 to help children in Lesotho. Earlier this year he took Prince William to the southern African country to visit an orphanage funded by the charity.
He said: "I love children, and to be able to work with such fantastic children gives me a good feeling. I am lucky to be allowed to do this."
He spoke of the "captivating beauty" of Lesotho, but said its children "have a hard life".
"Every third child is infected with HIV, daily hundreds of them go through the drama of seeing their parents die and they are all alone and without protection, with hardly a single hope for the future. I simply wanted to help these children as best as I could."
The Prince, who caused controversy in 2005 when he attended a fancy dress party dressed as a Nazi, said he was looking forward to getting acquainted with Berliners "as long as no-one mentions football!"
Asked about his brother Prince William’s forthcoming marriage to Kate Middleton, he said: "I am enormously pleased that he finally popped the question. We are all pleased about it.
"I always wished for a sister and now I have one. I have known Kate for years and it’s great that she is now becoming part of the family."
© The Telegraph group
