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CNN Live Today

Prince Harry To Take up His Mother's Torch

Aired September 16, 2002 - 10:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The prince, third in line to the British throne, has come of age. Prince Harry turned 18 yesterday. And in an effort to put aside his former wild child image, Harry is now vowing to finish his late mother's charity work.
ITV's Tom Bradby says that Harry is carving out a place for himself in the royal clan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM BRADBY, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prince Harry turns 18, and he does so with a clear message. He wants to make sure his mother's legacy is not obscured.

Princess Diana was president of the Great Ormond Street Hospital, and his visit here was the most poignant part of a day designed to continue her work.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles were joint patrons of the Wishing Well Appeal that raised 54 million pounds for a new building at the hospital. Princess Diana went on to become its president. Since her death, the post has not been filled. At end of the day, the hospital gave Prince Harry a small memento of all of the work his mother did here.

The day had begun with a visit to a drop-in center. The Kids Company tries to help vulnerable children by offering them a supportive environment. Next, a demonstration by Merlin, a charity dealing in crisis health care. By now, he was visibly relaxing into his new role.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No hands, Harry.

PRINCE HARRY: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. have a good day.

BRADBY: And then, he experienced how cozy and warm it can get for a whole family inside a mosquito net in a disaster zone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hot. It's very hot, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, love.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

BRADBY: By now, Harry was getting used to being waylaid. Next, West Ham and a project that aims to use the lure of the club to direct children who have had problems at school back into education. Harry accepted the offer to step up to the penalty spot.

It went so well, he did it again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh!

PRINCE HARRY: Come on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got to move, because you're going to...

BRADBY: He took his turn in goal.

PRINCE HARRY: How can I reach that?

BRADBY: He persuaded the others to fire at us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey!

BRADBY: To some extent, this whole exercise aimed to portray a different side to Harry, but the message he wanted to get across did center around his mother. He has been greatly upset by the endless revelations about her private life. "She had more guts than anyone," he told us when the day was over.

Tom Bradby, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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