Prince Harry reportedly went “off-the-grid” for two days while in Africa as he visited a place close to his heart to reconnect with “old friends”, it has been claimed. The Duke of Sussex headed to Angola earlier this month to walk Africa’s largest minefield in Cuito Cuanavale, recreating one of his mother, Princess Diana’s, most iconic moments.
Harry witnessed the dangers still faced by families 28 years after his mother campaigned against landmines, in a bid to encourage more donations from the Angolan government to clear the remaining landmines, according to reports. But according to a new report, the Duke’s trip did not end in Angola. He took some time off to visit neighbouring Botswana, where he is thought to have met Tania ‘TJ’ Jenkins, a person Harry thinks of as a mother figure and whom he calls ‘mom’.
It has been claimed that Harry spent a full week away from his family, Meghan Markle, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, who live in Montecito, California.
A source told the Mail on Sunday: “This time he took some more time and space, and made the trip into a week-long visit to reconnect with old friends and get some headspace away from his phone and emails. He went off comms for two days or so.
“It was a good moment for Harry to take some time away from everything, enjoying total peace of mind and being somewhere so remote that he couldn’t even get emails or texts or calls.”
Harry has previously spoken about Tania and her husband, Mike Holding, in his memoir, Spare. The Duke claimed the couple played a pivotal role in Harry’s life, many years before he met the Duchess.
He wrote: “Both Teej and Mike were talented, brilliant, and wholly devoted to wildlife. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with these two, not just on this trip but in general.
“The problem was, would they let me? I’d often catch Teej looking in my direction, sizing me up, a curious smile on her face, as though I were something wild that had unexpectedly wandered into their camp. But instead of shooing me, or using me, as many would’ve done, she reached out and… petted me.”
The Duke said of his relationship with the pair: “She and Mike were the first people ever to cherish whatever wildness was still inside me, whatever hadn’t been lost to grief— and paps. They were outraged that others wanted to eliminate this last bit, that others were keen to put me into a cage.”
Revealing the reason behind him calling Tanis his “mom”, Harry wrote: “One afternoon, as we were all getting ready to go for a walk, Teej started nagging me [and I said] ‘ Okaaay, Mom,’
“It just flew out of my mouth. I heard it, and stopped. Teej heard it and stopped. But I didn’t correct myself. Teej looked shocked, but also moved. I was moved as well.
“Thereafter, I called her Mom all the time. It felt good. For both of us. Though I made a point, always, to call her Mom, rather than Mum. There was only one Mum.”