Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hand-in-hand at London premiere of Cirque du Soleil for Sentebale charity

Olivia Tobin17 January 2019
The Weekender

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have joined stars to attend the premiere of Cirque du Soleil, in aid of a charity in honour of Harry’s mother.

Harry and Meghan were the guests of honour at the Royal Albert Hall, joining in to watch performers display their acrobatic skills.

The event will raise awareness and funds for the duke's charity, Sentebale, which helps young people in southern Africa affected by HIV.

Thursday’s show will be the second in a series of Sentebale Nights, following the success of the hit musical, Hamilton’s fundraising performance last year which the royal pair attended.

Meghan dazzled in a £3,400 Roland Mouret gown while Prince Harry looked dapper by her side in a suit.

A 2004 gap year trip to the landlocked African nation of Lesotho inspired the duke to set up his Sentebale charity two years later with the country's Prince Seeiso, younger brother of King Letsie III.

Cirque du Soleil Premiere: In Pictures

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Their aim was to help youngsters in need and other children who had lost one or both parents to Aids or contracted the disease themselves.

The pair established Sentebale in memory of their mothers, with the name of the charity meaning forget-me-not, which Harry later found out was his mother Diana, Princess of Wales's favourite flower growing up.

In November 2015, Sentebale opened its £2 million Mamohato Children's Centre in Lesotho to scale up its Mamohato camps - a residential project providing psychological, social and practical support to children struggling to cope with being HIV positive.

The event was held at the Royal Albert Hall
REUTERS

That year the charity announced plans to expand into several southern African countries by 2020 - and by December 2016, Sentebale launched the first few weeks of its camp in Botswana to 150 children.

Daniel Lamarre, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group's chief executive, said: "We strive to make a difference in the lives of youths and encourage them to change the world.

REUTERS

"It is because both our organisations share these very values that we will proudly dedicate our Totem premiere to the Sentebale Nights, a perfect way to allow us to raise significant funds and awareness together."

Johnny Hornby, chairman of Sentebale, said: "We're very grateful to everyone at Cirque du Soleil for giving us the opportunity to shine a light on the work that Sentebale does to help children and young adults affected by HIV to live happy, healthy and productive lives."

Additional reporting by Press Association

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