Wednesday 29 June 2016

Harry's royal concert


Prince Harry and Joss Stone listen to the Basotho Youth Choir practising for the special concert held at Kensington Palace on June 28th 2016
(photo Kensington Royal Instagram)

He's always been the on trend brother. While William does sensible trousers and lunges at polo matches, Harry holds concerts. Full scale, full on, here it is just enjoy it concerts. Yep, this prince from Wales has been charming at full volume again as he turned Kensington Palace into a music venue and the hottest ticket in London this June all at the same time with a concert for his charity, Sentebale. And he got up on stage too. Somebody stop him. Actually don't, this is fun.





Harry held a huge concert at the palace built for William III and Mary II and graced by a statue of Queen Victoria to raise funds and awareness of the charity he set up in 2006 with his friend, Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.  And just to prove that Harry doesn't totally own the up with it, down with it, keeping it real royal label, Seeiso joined in the royal singalong with Coldplay at the end of the concert that underlined Harry's status as the Windsor to watch.


Sentebale works with people in Africa facing the challenges of HIV/AIDS and during the event Harry gave a speech in which he called on everyone to increase awareness of the conditions. He told the audience that ''HIV and AIDShas drifted from the headlines but remains an urgent challenge. It is a virus that feeds off silence and feeds on stigma.''


Harry also spoke of the reason he set up Sentebale, looking back to a visit to Lesotho when he was 19. He spoke of the burden placed on children who had lost parents to HIV/AIDS and who were having to work to support younger siblings and themselves and he told concert goers that ''every single one of us has a responsibility to educate ourselves, to do what we can to speak out and stamp out the silence..and fear.''




As well as Coldplay, the line up included Joss Stone, Nico & Vinz, George the Poet and Laura Mvula. Add in an audience including Princess Eugenie, Peter and Autumn Phillips and Mike Tindall and you've got a right royal night out and then some.




And it all ended with Harry, Prince Seeiso and the Basotho Youth Choir joining headline act Coldplay on stage to join in their performance of Up & Up.



It's yet another highpoint in a year that has already been a huge success for Harry and we're not quite half way through. 2016 is turning into Harry's year and that's really something to sing about.

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