Prince Harry pays tribute to his 'second home' in new book

Prince Harry is honouring his home away from home — one that carries deep connection to his late mother Princess Diana.

The Duke of Sussex has penned the foreword to Steve Bayes’ upcoming book, Okavango and the Source of Life, which highlights the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project dedicated to protecting the Okavango Delta, one of Africa’s last great natural sanctuaries and home to the world’s largest remaining elephant population.

In an excerpt of the foreword, obtained by People magazine, Harry, 41, reflects on his deep connection and lifelong dedication to Africa, sparked by Princess Diana’s revolutionary trip to the Angola minefields shortly before her death in 1997.

“There are some places on Earth that are so vast, beautiful and alive, they truly open your eyes and mind,” Harry writes about Okavango. “This paradise has been my second home for more than 25 years, a place to escape and be enveloped by nature’s sheer magnificence,” he added.

Harry first visited the Okavango Delta shortly after Diana’s death, and he has been committed since. Inspired by his mother’s mission, Harry has been a longtime supporter of the HALO Trust, the organisation dedicated to clearing landmines and remnants of war.

In 2015, the HALO Trust helped launch National Geographic’s expedition to the previously inaccessible and undocumented Cuito River — a major source of the delta. Since then, the team has discovered 29 more source lakes and hundreds of new species.

The new book, out March 3, draws attention to a “harsh reality,” per Harry: "A climate crisis and a mass extinction that can no longer be ignored.”