Prince Harry said he first realized Meghan Markle was his soulmate during a trip to Africa

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex during a visit to Morocco in 2019. Facundo Arrizabalaga – Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry delivered a speech to the UN for Nelson Mandela International Day on Monday. Harry reflected on his memories of Africa, saying it’s where he realized Meghan was his soulmate.

He also spoke of Mandela’s legacy and shared details of his meeting with Princess Diana. The Duke of Sussex reflected on his fond memories of Africa with Meghan Markle in a speech for Nelson Mandela International Day on Monday. Speaking at the United Nations before the General Assembly in New York City, Prince Harry spoke about Mandela’s legacy and what it means to him.

Mandela served as the first Black president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 and was known for his activism, having spent the majority of his life fighting against institutionalized racism in South Africa. “Since I first visited Africa at 13 years old, I’ve always found hope on the continent. In fact, for most of my life, it has been my lifeline, a place where I have found peace and healing time and time again,” Harry said.

“It’s where I’ve felt closest to my mother and sought solace after she died, and where I knew I had found a soulmate in my wife,” he said. “And it’s why so much of my work is based there. Because, despite continued hardship, there are people across Africa who embody Mandela’s spirit and ideals — building on the progress he helped make possible.

“In Harry and Markle’s engagement interview in 2018, the prince said he convinced the then-actress to join him on a five-day trip to Botswana just a couple of weeks after they started dating.  The couple returned to Botswana in 2017 to assist Dr. Mike Chase of Elephants Without Borders in his conservation efforts, People reported.

Harry also said that he owns a photo of Mandela meeting his mother, the late Princess Diana, in Cape Town in 1997. It was given to him by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 2019, Harry said, and he now displays it on his wall at home. The Duchess of Sussex and Archie with Archbishop Desmond Tutu during their royal tour of Africa in 2019.

Samir Hussein/ WireImage/ Getty Images”When I first looked at the photo, straight away what jumped out was the joy on my mother’s face. The playfulness, cheekiness, even. Pure delight to be in communion with another soul so committed to serving humanity,” Harry said in the speech.

Harry added that Mandela was “beaming” in the photo despite the struggles he had encountered in his life. The activist spent 27 years in prison for opposing South Africa’s apartheid system, which separated South Africans into categories based on their race. White people – 15 percent of the South African population – were considered to be “at the top of society,” while Black South Africans were at the bottom, according to the Canadian Museum of Human Rights.

“Not because he was blind to the ugliness, the injustices, of the world — no, he saw them clearly; he had lived them — but because he knew we could overcome them,” Harry said. Read the original article on Insider.