Royals

Prince Harry’s rock star moment

The Royal has joined Coldplay on stage in England.
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Prince Harry has had a true rock star moment, joining Coldplay on stage in England.

The Sentebale concert at Kensington Palace was held to raise funds and awareness of the challenges faced by young people affected by HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

Harry founded Sentable in 2006 with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and the two of them joined a 12-strong choir for Coldplay’s final performance of Up & Up.

Before the performance, he spoke to the crowd about his time visiting Lesotho when he was 19 and called for more to be done to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Prince Harry and Coldplay’s singer, Chris Martin.

“What I saw there was a country with significant challenges; some of the world’s most vulnerable people, robbed of their childhoods – forced into work due to extreme poverty and the loss of one or both parents due to the devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic,” Harry said.

“In some cases, the ‘lady of the house’ was a 12-year-old girl looking after her brothers and sisters.

“If you have been moved by the stories you’ve heard, please commit to taking a little bit of time to learn about the fight against HIV in places like Lesotho, throughout Africa, and here in the UK as well.

“Every single one of us has a responsibility to educate ourselves.”

“This is a topic that has drifted from the headlines, but remains an urgent challenge. In southern Africa, the epidemic remains the biggest killer of adolescents. Here in the UK, more people have the virus than ever.

“What we know is that HIV is a virus that thrives off silence and feeds on stigma. Every single one of us has a responsibility to educate ourselves.”

Later, as Coldplay and the children’s choir performed, Harry joined in before telling the audience: “Thank you for standing out in the rain, thank you to the choir that has come all the way from Lesotho. Please drive home safely and carry the work of Sentebale. And thank you to Coldplay – thank you so much, you’ve rocked the palace, you’ve rocked the palace!”

Watch: The Basotho Youth Choir and Joss Stone prepare for the Sentebale Concert

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