Prince William and Prince Harry have moved from Botswana to Semonkong, Lesotho, and the pictures of their tour are f-cking amazing. My uterus is all “Okay, maybe I would consent to having a royal baby.” Seriously, Will and Harry are wearing cute blankets (I want one) in some photos, and in others they’re holding adorable kids. And Waity Katy didn’t get to come, she just had to stay home, barefoot and pregnant. Too bad, Kate. These photos are just for me.

As the two brothers began a two-day visit to the southern African nation of Lesotho, Prince Harry was given the rare honour of a royal procession to welcome him to the impoverished kingdom, where his Sentebale charity helps vulnerable children. Wearing a traditional tribal blanket coupled with a beanie hat, the 25-year-old prince rode a bay pony a mile through the village of Semongkong, escorted by villagers on ponies, and greeted by ululating women and shepherd boys bouncing in unison along the route.

Prince Harry, accompanied by Lesotho¹s Prince Seeiso, the King¹s youngest son, spent much of the day visiting schools that Sentebale, the charity he helped set up in memory of his mother, has built or supported for village children and nomadic shepherd boys. He was joined later by Prince William, who was keen to find out the problems facing children in Lesotho, where 23 per cent of adults among a population of 1.9 million are HIV-positive and average life expectancy is 34.

In Semongkong, a village nestling between snow-capped mountains 8,000ft up in the remotest part of Lesotho, the brothers met herd boys as young as eight who walk miles to attend night school after spending their days tending sheep and cattle. They spend months, sometimes years, away from their homes and live such harsh lives that a United Nations report compared their existence unfavourably to that of child soldiers in Liberia.
With little protection against the elements, many die in lightning strikes. Others suffer sexual abuse from herd boys and face a constant battle against rustlers and rivals seeking the best grazing ground. When they return to their villages as adults, many are so feral that they run amok, raping and pillaging.

In an effort to help them, Sentebale has opened schools teaching them how to read and write and giving them social skills and health education to avoid AIDS and other diseases. It has becomes one of Sentebale’s main priorities.

“It’s the main thing to do”, said Harry. “They¹re herd boys from aged eight to 18 then they come back at 18 with no education, no social skills. All they want to do is…”, he added, pointing to his groin.

Prince William, 27, and Prince Harry, 25, talked to many of the herd boys, listening to their stories, dancing to their songs, and giving them presents of warm hats. Prince Harry gave one delighted boy a torch to help him walk nine miles across the mountains to school in pitch black at night.

[From The Telegraph]

A torch means a flashlight, for our American readers. Although it would have been funny if Harry had handed the kid a burning stick and was like “Fire, here ya go.” I have to say it, but Harry seems like the natural, the awesome one, the one who really gives a sh-t. Not that William is phoning it in, necessarily, but I just think Harry seems to have more of his mom’s natural grace when dealing with “the common folk.”