The charitable work of Britain’s Prince Harry is to be recognised at the Life Ball event in May.
The 30-year-old royal, who recently announced his decision to quit the army, set up his Sentebale charity with the help of Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and is set to receive the 2015 Swarovski Crystal Of Hope Award after the organisation built the Mamohato Children’s Centre, which supports vulnerable children through healthcare and education.
Life Ball founder Gery Keszler says the charity is a worthy winner of the award, telling the Daily Mail newspaper: "We always select programmes to receive this award that are relatively unsung heroes, doing interesting, innovative and important work but not yet well-known.
"This award not only donates substantial funds, but also brings an international spotlight to the work. I will be visiting the programme in April, which helps children living with HIV/AIDS educationally, emotionally and physically – it is really exceptional and we are proud to be working with them."
Life Ball takes place in May and is the biggest charity event in Europe supporting people with HIV/AIDS.
Keszler explained: "Life Ball was born out of the energy and environment prevalent across the world in the late 80’s and early 90’s – particularly in the fashion industry – that saw AIDS as a daily issue profoundly effecting our friends and colleagues who were dying, but that no one understood or was willing to talk about.
"There was this undercurrent of urgency to do something: to help, to get involved and make some noise.
"My main goal with the first Life Ball was to bring a spotlight to the disease, the fundraising aspect was a secondary consideration."
Prince Harry’s AIDS charity set for award
