Prince Harry breaks cover after telling BBC he ‘doesn’t know how much longer’ King Charles will live as he launches charity initiative named after his mother Diana

Prince Harry has praised young people for having an ‘honesty about mental health that previous generations struggled to express’ as he made his first public appearance since his bombshell interview.

The Duke of Sussex was in Las Vegas yesterday on the day of his son Prince Archie’s sixth birthday to launch a new youth initiative with the Diana Award.

Harry told an audience that ‘far too many young people are locked out of leadership pipelines because we’ve failed to build truly inclusive and accessible pathways’, also praising them for their ‘boldness’ and their ‘refusal to settle for the status quo’.

He heralded young leaders for standing up for themselves, days after claiming King Charles will not speak to him and he does not know ‘how much longer my father has’.

Harry – who has previously spoken at length about his mental health struggles after his mother Princess Diana died – took part in a conversation on stage in the Nevada city with two young people, who are holders of The Legacy Award in her memory.

Las Vegas was famously the destination of Harry’s raucous road trip in 2012 which ended with photos emerging of the naked prince after a game of strip billiards.

Some 13 years later, he was back launching the Pledge To Invest drive, which aims to put a spotlight on the future of youth leadership and how businesses can support it.

Yesterday was also the sixth birthday of Harry’s son Archie, which his wife Meghan marked with a new photo, and the second anniversary of Charles’s coronation .

Prince Harry appears at the Diana Award ‘Knowledge 2025’ event in Las Vegas yesterday

(From left) Diana Award chief executive Tessy Ojo, Prince Harry, Legacy Award holders Sikander ‘Sonny’ Khan and Christina Williams and ServiceNow’s Paul Fipps in Las Vegas

The Duke of Sussex was in Las Vegas to launch a new youth initiative with the Diana Award

Harry was in Las Vegas launching the Pledge To Invest drive as part of the Diana Award

Prince Harry (centre) speaks at the ‘Knowledge 2025’ event in Las Vegas with Diana Award chief executive Tessy Ojo (left) and Sikander ‘Sonny’ Khan (right), a Legacy Award holder

On the same day, Meghan released the fifth episode of her new eight-part podcast Confessions of a Female Founder, with Clevr Blends founder Hannah Mendoza.

In Las Vegas, Harry chatted at the ‘Knowledge 2025’ event with Tessy Ojo, chief executive of The Diana Award which was set up in tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales.

Also on stage were Sikander ‘Sonny’ Khan from Michigan and Christina Williams from Jamaica, who are holders of The Legacy Award, as well as Paul Fipps, president of global customer operations for AI software company ServiceNow, which is partnering with the organisation.

Harry said: ‘Through The Diana Award, I’ve had the privilege of meeting young people who have turned adversity into action.

‘That’s not just inspiring – it’s the kind of untapped potential we can’t afford to overlook. Far too many young people are locked out of leadership pipelines because we’ve failed to build truly inclusive and accessible pathways.’

‘This generation isn’t waiting for permission to lead – they are already doing it. They bring emotional intelligence, social awareness, and an honesty about mental health that previous generations struggled to express.

‘What sets them apart isn’t just their boldness, but their refusal to settle for the status quo… If we’re serious about a better future, we need to stop underestimating them and start listening.’

Prince Harry listens to Legacy Award holder Sikander ‘Sonny’ Khan in Las Vegas yesterday

The Pledge To Invest drive aims to put a spotlight on the future of youth leadership

Prince Harry sits next to Diana Award chief executive Tessy Ojo at the event in Las Vegas

The event was hosted by software firm ServiceNow, which is partnering with the Diana Award

Speaking to Mr Khan and Ms Williams, the Duke added: ‘We’re in an era now where we are looking for more companies to be serving the greater good – the majority, not the minority. Every single young person has potential.

‘From a younger generation standpoint, in an apathetic world, there’s more empathy in this generation than I’ve ever seen before… It’s the empathy, the authenticity, the truth, the honesty and the fearlessness…

‘When they stand up for themselves, and stand up in their communities… That is what we need. We need fearless leadership. So I tip my hat to both of you and what you represent.’

A press release from the Diana Award stated that Harry and Dr Ojo also met with ServiceNow chief executive Bill McDermott ‘along with over 20 senior business leaders, changemakers and donors at a private roundtable prior to taking the stage’.

The on stage discussion was said to have ‘focused on youth leadership and how employers can proactively create pathways for young people to enter and thrive in the workplace’.

The conversation also ‘highlighted what can be done to improve outcomes and emphasised the resilience and agency of young people’.

Harry’s involvement in The Knowledge event ‘underscores his continued commitment to redefining how we invest in the future’, according to the press release.

The Duke of Sussex claimed last Friday the King will not speak to him and he does not know ‘how much longer my father has’ as he spoke of his hopes for a ‘reconciliation’ with his family

The Duke was also said to be ‘helping bridge business investment and youth development, championing a vision where innovation, equity and service unite – not only to address today’s workforce challenges, but to unlock the full potential of the next generation of leaders’.

It added: ‘In doing so, he continues the legacy of his mother, Princess Diana, whose unwavering belief in the power of young people remains at the heart of this mission.’

It comes after Harry spoke last Friday in a bombshell BBC television interview about his hopes for a ‘reconciliation’ with his family. After losing the latest round in his court battle over his security, Harry said: ‘this, at the heart of it, is a family dispute’.

When asked if Charles had been approached to use his influence in Harry’s legal problems, the duke appeared to imply the King was a hindrance, a comment likely to deepen the rift with his father and his brother, the Prince of Wales.

He said: ‘I’ve never asked him to intervene, I’ve asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their job.’

The health of the King, who is being treated for cancer, was highlighted by his son, who said: ‘And I said, life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has, he, he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.’

Harry, who appeared emotional and close to tears through much of the interview, offered an olive branch, saying he could ‘forgive my family’s involvement’, naming Charles, the Prince of Wales and his stepmother, the Queen, in events since he began dating his wife Meghan in 2016.

The Duchess of Sussex posted a photo of Prince Harry and their children after the court ruling

He also said information he learned during the legal process led him to discover ‘some people want history to repeat itself’, in an apparent reference to the death of Diana.

The duke lost a Court of Appeal challenge over his security arrangements while in the UK and said in the TV interview that he ‘can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK’.

He failed in his appeal against the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office, over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK.

Yesterday, the BBC admitted to a lapse in ‘our usual high editorial standards’ in the Today programme coverage of Harry’s interview after it failed to properly challenge allegations of a ‘stitch up’.

Also yesterday at the event in Las Vegas, Ms Williams said: ‘Providing up skilling and education opportunities and workplace mobility isn’t an act of charity.

‘It is in your benefit to do this now so you have a competent and capable generation to take on the torch from you in a few decades to run your companies.’

And talking about mentoring, Mr Khan said: ‘I want people to understand all of us have been in that position, where we’ve been young people looking for a chance, and then somebody gave us that chance.

The Duchess of Sussex wished her son Prince Archie a happy sixth birthday with this photo

‘It’s our responsibility to lift when we rise, and open doors for other people. And that’s something as a young person I’ve tried to do every single day – being that mentor for younger people and trying to create that ripple effect.

Dr Ojo said: ‘Behind every thriving industry is its people. We don’t just develop young people – we co-create the workforce of tomorrow. Companies that invest in youth leadership today are cultivating the workforce, innovators, and consumers of tomorrow. I urge businesses to find out more.’

And Mr Fipps stated: ‘At ServiceNow, our purpose is to make the world work better for everyone, and that starts with the next generation.

‘We’re proud to partner with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and The Diana Award to provide a platform that encourages other business leaders to invest in young people.

‘We are committed to investing in the next generation, empowering them to tackle the pressing issues of our time.’