On Monday, British royalty, Prince Harry, celebrated his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II‘s birthday in Gaborone at the British High Commissioner’s residence.
Prince William was expected to join his brother on Tuesday to make a number of public visits in support of the charities and organizations they are aligned to locally.
Princes Harry and William are sons of Prince Charles and the Late Princess Diana, whom some referred to as the Princess of Wales.
This is not the first time a member of the royal family attended the queen’s birthday party in Botswana. In 2003, the queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, joined the High Commissioner in celebration of the Queen’s Birthday.
According to Jennifer Anderson, the British High Commissioner in Botswana, Harry is in Botswana for a formal joint overseas visit with William to pursue their personal and charitable interests.
The two will be accompanied by a number of representatives of the British Media.
For Anderson, this was the first Queen’s Birthday party she attended in Botswana because she just joined the High Commission in January this year. She said that they were celebrating the Queen’s birthday in Botswana as a way of reflecting on how far the relationships between Botswana and England have come.
Prince Harry has in the past visited Botswana in his private capacity to spend a significant amount of time in the country.
“I am particularly delighted that Prince Harry has agreed to be here today because, to me, this symbolizes one of the great strengths of the UK/Botswana relationship and that is the enormous interest many Britons have in Botswana and its positive image in the UK,” said Anderson.
The Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs Mokgweetsi Masisi had reportedly arranged for the High commission to have access to Botswana’s National Archive where they managed to attain a collection of old photographs recording previous visits by young members of the royal family.
Anderson said that she found it fitting that the commander of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) LT General Tebogo Masire was present for the celebrations because the British Armed forces (BAF) and BDF have worked together since the inception of the BDF.
She also said that in Prince Harry, they have a serving member of the BAF, also a graduate of Sandhurst where President Ian Khama also received his training.
