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HELLO! royal tour diary: day two in Lesotho

Emily Nash
Emily Nash - London
Royal EditorLondon
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Our day started early on Thursday at the Mamohato Centre in Thaba Bosiu, where local children were already enjoying the football pitch and a huge wooden climbing frame as they waited for their royal visitor.

Some of the British and international media took the chance to have a kickabout with the youngsters and ended up being put through their paces by the children.

Under a blazing sun, others excitedly practiced their singing and dancing while we took shelter under a canopy.

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A group of local farmers wearing the distinctive traditional mokorotlo hats appeared on horseback to add to the spectacle.

When he finally arrived, Prince Harry was all smiles and clearly delighted with the completed building.

And his hard work, inspired by orphans like Mutsu Potsane, came full circle as he was reunited with the 15-year-old more than a decade after they first met.

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Watching them hug and chat was hugely moving, as was hearing from student Motseliso Morahanye, 20, talk about how Sentebale’s support had allowed her to finish school and go on to study law at university.

After the colour and excitement of the day, we returned to our hotel to file copy while charity supporters and ambassadors including soul star Joss Stone, actress Laura Main and Argentine polo star Nacho Figueras got ready for a celebratory dinner in the centre’s Diana, Princess of Wales hall.

On the menu, a local Basotho feast of Osso Buco, local trout with tomato and onion, samp and beans, savoury rice, creamed spinach, roasted butternut squash and almond butter, steamed bread and sticky toffee pudding with custard for dessert.

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But it was an early night for us before a 5am start to fly to Johannesburg and on to Cape Town, where Harry is playing in the Royal Salute Sentebale Cup on Saturday.

Passing through immigration, I got a sense of how much Prince Harry’s work is appreciated throughout Lesotho when a customs official told me: "Harry does so much here, we really like him."

But he asked: "When is he going to get married?

"His brother has two children, he needs to settle down too."

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