Just when you thought Prince Harry was too busy with duties in the U.K. and planning the announcement of his engagement to Meghan Markle (oh, it’s HAPPENING), our favourite British royal found his way back to former first lady Michelle Obama. The two BFFs (sorry, Justin Trudeau, Michelle was there first) surprised students at a high school in Chicago’s south side, ahead of the first-ever Obama Foundation Summit.
And not only did Michelle post her thanks to Harry on Instagram, she also gave us a slideshow of the two of them with some Hyde Park Academy students as well. Sigh. She really knows what the people want and how to give it to them.
Hyde Park Academy just happens to be across from the “future site of the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side of Chicago.”
But it wasn’t just a long-awaited reunion between Harry and the former First Lady. The Prince shared the stage with young leaders and one Barack Obama, speaking about the Full Effect program and the work it does to provide platforms for young leaders.
HRH will share the stage with Chantelle Stefanovic from St Ann’s. He had the honour of introducing Chantelle to @BarackObama earlier today pic.twitter.com/5ikp8EhWA4
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) October 31, 2017
Prince Harry had a sit-down with Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Investments, on ways that youth can be the drivers of community engagement and development. He spoke candidly about how he’s trying to use his privilege for good, and used Diana, Princess of Wales, as an example of how he can be of service to others.
When asked why he thought his mother was referred to as “The People’s Princess,” he said, “I think she had a lot in common with everybody but also she certainly listened in a very, very short space of time. In society we suffer from this illusion or this reality where some problems get so big that nobody wants to get involved. She was the one that changed that.”
Harry added: “I will always look up to her as being my ideal role model.”
As for what inspires him and his hopes for future? Well, they go hand in hand.
“The younger generation in the world has turned me into an optimist.” —Prince Harry to young civic leaders at the #ObamaSummit
— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) October 31, 2017
“We have to listen to the younger generation because they are the cure of some of the world’s biggest problems.” —Prince Harry #ObamaSummit
— The Obama Foundation (@ObamaFoundation) October 31, 2017
What he said.