Prince Harry gave an emotive speech at the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards on Thursday (29.06.17).
The 32-year-old royal spoke out at the bash, which took place at Australia House in London last night, and during his talk he praised The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme for its continued success over the past few years and to recognise each individual representative from "every country" in the Commonwealth.
Harry’s speech, which has also been obtained on Royal.uk, read: "We are here today to recognise our Queen’s Young Leaders for 2017.
"The Queen’s Young Leaders Programme was launched in 2014 in honour of Her Majesty The Queen’s 60 years of service to the Commonwealth. I’m excited to stand here three years later to say that the nominations for this programme has grown year after year – and we now have Queen’s Young Leaders represented from every country in the Commonwealth.
"The Queen’s Young Leaders award recognises what these incredible young people have achieved – not for themselves, but for others – for their peers, for their communities, for their environment, and for those less fortunate.
"To this year’s winners: your service spans a broad spectrum of fields from tackling bullying in schools to preserving the environment, and social entrepreneurship to supporting those who are caring for a family member with dementia, to name just a few. You have already been an inspiration to so many; but I hope this award will motivate you to go out and achieve even greater things in the future, empowered by the network of leaders you now sit amongst. Each of you are proof that one person can in fact make a tremendous difference and together change the world."
And Harry – who is the youngest child of Prince Charles and his late wife Princess Diana – believes the world is "better connected than ever before" to "every corner" of the globe, which has helped to spread awareness about "challenges" people are faced with in each country.
He explained: "We often hear and read so much about the challenges people are facing in every corner of the world – all of which is brought vividly to life through digital and social media. We are better connected than ever before – this can make the world seem a faster, more complex, and challenging place."
Although Harry believes that connection and ability to know more about the problems across the world can make people feel "pessimistic", he believes it showcases a more "positive change" among communities.
He continued: "And too often it can make us all feel pessimistic about the future.
"But that’s not what I see. At home and abroad, I see people – especially young people – doing incredible things. Young people are using this technology more than ever to be a force for good and positive change in their communities. They are creative and innovative, and most importantly, they are committed to making the world a better, more optimistic, and compassionate place."
Prince Harry gives emotive speech at the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards
