Prince Harry jokingly reprimanded members of the audience for recording him on their phones as he delivered an unexpected keynote speech in London, days before a planned European trip with his wife, Meghan.
The 42-year-old Duke of Sussex appeared at the Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards on behalf of Travalyst, the nonprofit initiative he founded to bring greater sustainability to travel and the wider tourism industry.
Speaking at the Old Royal Naval College on Thursday, Harry discussed responsible tourism and the origins of Travalyst during the previously unannounced appearance.
However, moments after taking the stage, he playfully mocked the crowd for immediately reaching for their cameras.
“All I can see is phones,” he said, prompting loud laughter from the audience.
Appearing to refer to the speaker who had addressed the crowd before him, he added: “You guys, literally, he just talked about it.”
Harry continued: “I founded Travalyst in 2019 because I believe that an industry built on extraordinary places of our world has both a responsibility and a business imperative to protect them.”
He later joined the winners of the award for the most desirable country for sustainability, which went to Germany.
The Duke of Sussex, 42, spoke at the Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards on Thursday
Harry later joined the winners of Germany’s award for the most desirable country for sustainability
Afterward, he said: “I started Travalyst because I believe deeply in travel as a force for good.
“But if tourism stops working for the people who call these destinations home, eventually it stops working for everyone.
“By collaborating as an industry, we can ensure nature survives and destinations thrive, while travel remains a source of prosperity, connection and exploration for generations to come.”
Harry’s surprise appearance came only three days after he was seen at a luxury hotel in New York.
The Duke was photographed apparently attending a business meeting at the Lotte New York Palace hotel in Manhattan.
He is understood to have held “a number of meetings” in the city on Monday before returning to the UK.
The engagements come ahead of a busy week for Harry, who is expected to travel to Europe with Meghan on Tuesday.
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The visit is expected to mark the couple’s first public appearance since reports emerged that Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle Sr, had been reported to police in the Philippines and the FBI over a collection of suspected child abuse images.
Harry and Meghan are due to visit Brussels, Belgium, where they will unveil a new version of the Lost Screen Memorial. The art installation honours children who have died after experiencing online harm.
The memorial consists of 50 phones, each displaying a lock-screen image of a child who died after being exposed to the harmful effects of social media.
The surprise awards appearance came three days after Harry was seen at a luxury hotel in New York
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are scheduled to travel to Brussels on Tuesday, pictured during a visit to Nottingham on October 15
The Duke and Duchess will also speak about protecting children online. Harry is expected to take part in a panel discussion titled “Beyond Promises: Building a Digital Future That Works for Children.”
During the short visit, the Sussexes are due to hear speeches from European Parliament president Roberta Metsola and MEP Antonio Lopez-Isturiz, the first vice-chairman of the Child Rights Intergroup, before delivering their own address.
Harry and Meghan are expected to have between 15 and 20 minutes for their rare joint speech, which will focus on the importance of children’s digital safety.
The appearance is likely to attract international attention following allegations involving Meghan’s estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr, who has become the subject of an international investigation into suspected child sexual abuse images.
The Philippine National Police has said that videos allegedly depicting child sexual abuse and exploitation were among files found in four storage boxes said to have belonged to Markle Sr. He was reported by his son, Thomas Markle Jr, last month.
Major General Wilson Asueta of the Philippine National Police said authorities had not yet established who owned the devices. The items reportedly included nine mobile phones, three memory cards, five hard drives and a camera.
Markle Jr, 82-year-old Thomas Markle Sr’s son, is said to have reported him to police in the Philippines and the FBI after handing over alleged abuse images he claimed to have found among his father’s belongings in Cebu City.
A second collection was reportedly found last Friday in a storage unit that Markle Sr is said to have rented near his former home in Rosarito, Mexico, during a raid by Mexican police.
Subsequent reports have claimed that Markle Sr was moved to a Florida care home for dementia patients, described as a specialist “memory care” facility.
Meghan was reportedly “deeply distressed” by the allegations. She has also said that, seven years ago, she received a letter through the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection containing “troubling and disturbing allegations” about her father, although she was assured they were being investigated.
Meghan said she ended contact with her father for one reason: to protect her children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five.
