Prince Harry is finally forging his solo path | Royal Insight

From New York to Lesotho in Southern Africa, the Duke of Sussex has been flexing his global diplomatic muscles in a way that is reminiscent of his time as a working royal.

His team have played down suggestions of it being something of a royal tour - rather it’s a chance for him to focus on some of his key patronages and charities close to his and his late mother’s heart.

But these recent ventures have been done without the Duchess of Sussex, who is understood to be focusing on her commercial venture American Riviera Orchard back home in Montecito.

The solo nature of his trips has prompted questions, but it may simply mark a new era for the couple in separating some of their professional causes.

This most recent programme for Harry could have easily been plucked from any week of his former role as a working royal - a time before his wife was in the picture.

Might it make sense then for him to undertake this programme without her?

But there is also something else to consider - and that is him taking on the all-important mantle of his late mother’s legacy.

Her memory was central to many of the events he undertook in the last few weeks - not to mention his suggestion that completing the Halo Trust’s anti-landmine mission would mean she would be able to ‘rest’.

On his 18th birthday, he vowed to finish the work Diana had started, and more than two decades on these trips have shown him staying true to his word.

While his solo schedule has prompted speculation among royal observers that he is hankering for his old royal life, maybe this could just be his attempt to carve out a niche for himself as the couple move away from their former line of attack.

PR professionals have noted that this approach improves their popularity with the public - with one saying these visits endear him specifically to people with his Diana-like ability with children, the disabled and the disadvantaged.

All reports that he is seeking to return to a working royal life have continued to be emphatically denied by sources close to the couple as they insist Harry is happy and thriving with new friends.

But the latest questions may have also been prompted by the September 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter which included a short article titled, Why Hollywood Keeps Quitting on Harry and Meghan.

The report provided a run-down of the comings and goings of the couple’s staff, noting the latest departure in the form of Josh Kettler, who had spent a few months as Harry’s chief of staff before parting ways.

An ardent defence was swiftly issued, with former and current staff of the Sussexes coming forward to tell the American celebrity magazine Us Weekly that they are the best employers they’ve ever worked for.

These trips may have come at an opportune time for Prince Harry as he might seek to both champion the causes he and his late mother loved as well as endear himself to the public.

They have provided a reminder of the working Duke of Sussex separate from the family drama and gossip surrounding him.

In his last speech before leaving Britain four years ago, he said he would continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes and charities that are so important to him.

The success of these recent trips speaks to the promise he made and may well determine the arc of his working life going forward.

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