Prince Harry has been appointed a Commonwealth youth ambassador, his highest-profile public role to date and a job that will see him working with his future wife encouraging young people to use the network of mostly former British colonies.
Queen Elizabeth awarded the position to her 33-year-old grandson who is fifth-in-line to the throne and has led a rebranding of the monarchy in a bid to make it more modern and relevant.
“I know that serving as ambassador to young people I’m going have to try to keep up with you all...my job will be to listen to you, my duty will be to ensure that your ideas, concerns, thoughts and hopes are heard,” Harry told the opening of a Commonwealth forum discussing youth issues.
The announcement coincides with the start of a summit of the Commonwealth Heads of Government in London this week, which will seek to boost the network at a time when Britain is negotiating its departure from the European Union.
“I’m also incredibly grateful that the woman that I am about to marry, Meghan, will be joining me in this work, in which she too is hugely excited to take part in,” the prince added, drawing applause and cheers from the audience.
Harry will marry American actress Meghan Markle on May 19. In a statement, Buckingham Palace said more than 60% of the Commonwealth’s 2.4bn people were under the age of 30.
The Queen is the head of the Commonwealth, but questions have been raised over whether her son and heir, Prince Charles, should succeed her.
“The Queen clearly is personally very committed to the Commonwealth but after her, maybe it’s a time to say ‘well actually the Commonwealth should decide who its own president is on a rotational basis’,” Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, told the BBC on Sunday.
Prince Harry attends a Youth Forum on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London yesterday.
