Video calling in from his Los Angeles home, Prince Harry addressed the young award-winners in a surprise appearance.
“I am so incredibly proud to be part of these awards as they honour the legacy of my mother and bring out the very best in people like you,” he began.
“You are all doing such incredible work and at a time of great uncertainty, you have found the power and inspiration inside of you to make a positive mark on the world, and I love that The Diana Award is able to help you do it.”
The 35-year-old Prince Harry went on to speak about his mother’s own enduring legacy. “I know that my mother has been an inspiration to many of you and I can assure you she would have been fighting your corner,” he said.
“Like many of you, she never took the easy route, she never took the popular one, or the comfortable one. But she stood for something. And she stood up for people who needed it.”
Harry recalled a recent comment from his wife Meghan and addressed the racial inequality brought to light amid recent protests.
“My wife [Meghan] said recently that our generation and the ones before us haven’t done enough to right the wrongs of the past. I too am sorry – sorry that we haven’t got the world to a place you deserve it to be,” he said.
“Institutional racism has no place in our societies, yet it is still endemic. Unconscious bias must be acknowledged without blame to create a better world for all of you.”
Established in 1999 in memory of Diana, the Princess of Wales, The Diana Award honours Diana’s belief that “young people have the power to change the world for the better.”
Watch the full speech below.
