Prince Harry is back in the headlines, but this time not for anything related to King Charles, their reunion, or his legal battle. It is because he once called his son, Prince Archie, “my little African child” right after his birth. According to Newsweek, he said this while introducing his newborn to primatologist Jane Goodall. 

During an interview with Katie Couric, former magazine editor Tina Brown revealed that Prince Harry called his son, Prince Archie, “my little African child.” The Duke’s long-standing emotional connection to Africa is not hidden from anyone. He often describes this as a place of healing and belonging for him. 

While narrating the story, Brown told Katie that she had gone for lunch with Goodall before the scientist passed away in October. It was during this lunch that the topic of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s royal exit and their son, Prince Archie, came up. 

Reportedly, Goodall was a friend of the couple and had already visited them after Prince Archie’s birth, but nothing about their conversation was disclosed. But now, Katie has given us all an insight into that meeting and revealed what was actually spoken. 

The reports further state that Jane was one of the few people outside the family to visit Archie after his birth. And that is when Harry said, “This is my little African child.” 

Tina added, “It’s going to be my child who essentially… You know… wild child, essentially… they were going to have this time together, living a life off the grid, as it were. She said she was absolutely stunned when he chose the life that he did.”

There is no way to verify Tina’s revelations now, as Goodall is no more. But the representative of the Duke of Sussex declined to comment on it. 

Brown had further revealed that there is an argument that the royals already knew Harry might leave royal life. Still, they did not expect to see him enjoying a celebrity lifestyle in America. Brown said. “But they all thought that he would do something like… they all expected him to kind of go to Africa and become a person who focused on conservation of animals in Africa and live a kind of off-the-grid life, is what they all thought.”

“Nobody expected him to go to Montecito and live the opposite of the off-the-grid life, which is the kind of celebrity life. And I don’t think that Harry thought he was going to do that either,” she concluded. 

According to a statement released by People after Goodall’s death, Harry and Meghan paid their respects by describing their meeting when she came to visit Prince Archie. Their statement read, “Dr Jane Goodall DBE was a visionary humanitarian, scientist, friend to the planet, and friend to us. Her commitment to changing lives extends beyond what the world saw to what we personally felt. She held our son, Archie, when he was first born, and showered love and care on those who were privileged to know her. She will be deeply missed.”

Africa, as many already know, has been a home away from home for Prince Harry. He even found solace there after the death of his mother, Princess Diana. But in his book Spare, the Duke revealed a conflict that arose between him and his brother William over pursuing charity projects there. 

Harry even revealed that William had a fit after a friend suggested they could pursue projects in Africa together. “It was all so obvious,” Harry added. “He cared less about finding his purpose or passion than about winning his lifelong competition with me.”

So Africa has always been a close part of Prince Harry’s life, hence giving his son a name derived from his love for the continent is just another form of pure love.