The Duke of Sussex left a group of young people in stitches during his whirlwind trip to New York City this week, it has emerged. Prince Harry visited the city for the first time since he returned to the UK last month, making several appearances including at the Clinton Global Initiative 2026 Annual Meeting.
He also surprised a group of young people at a Diana Award panel focused on how young people can thrive in a rapidly changing world of work. The appearance at the panel, titled Beyond Skills: Investing in the Next Generation for the Future of Work, had not been announced ahead of time.
Jokes and warm reception
Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award, told People magazine: “Everyone was saying he was so funny. He cracked jokes on the panel.”
“He spoke about being 42 and not a spring chicken like the young people,” Ojo added.
Ojo said: “People were so shocked when he walked in. He was in great form and very chilled. He made the young people feel at ease.”
Teleprompter failure at Clinton Global Initiative
On Wednesday, the duke faced a technical issue on stage after the teleprompter failed while speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative event. Harry had to cut short his impassioned address, but he was welcomed back to the stage some 40 minutes later to deliver the end of his talk.
Returning to the stage, the duke said: “Hello again. So AI got into my speech, so I was asked to come out and finish it. Interesting to see what it was so concerned about in part two.”
Appeal on children's online safety
Harry urged the world not to wait and see before protecting children from online harm, saying he was speaking “as a father”.
“Innovation has never required us to gamble with our children’s lives. We should not accept that bargain now,” he said.
The duke, father to Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet who are settling into their new schools in the UK, added: “I come to this as a father — one who has shared countless conversations with other parents as they mourned the loss of their children to recklessly built technology.”
“And as a father, I will remind you of the faces that accompanied me the last time I stood before you. Hundreds have become thousands,” he said.
