Prince Harry had a huge group hug with a South African choir during his solo trip to Japan, as he encouraged them to “keep spreading the love”.
The Duke, 38, appeared at the ISPS Sports Values Summit-Special Edition yesterday in Tokyo, where he met with the choir backstage.
After watching the Stellenbosch University Choir perform on stage, the Duke went to congratulate them and they shared a sweet moment.
In a video posted by the choir on X, formerly known as Twitter, Harry told the group to “keep spreading the love” and shared his gratitude to them.
Harry first hugged the conductor, who called the Prince an "icon"
The Duke and the conductor shared a hug before Harry asked the whole choir to join in.
Whilst hugging, Harry started chanting “One, two, three, South Africa!”, which the group then echoed in response.
André van der Merwe, the conductor, gave his praise to the Prince for meeting the group backstage: “Thank you that you spent so much time with us, for such an icon, so modest."
The X post from the University is captioned: “That moment Prince Harry meets the Stellenbosch University Choir and confesses to be a big fan.”
Followed by a flurry of emojis, the post continued: “It's the group hug at the end for us."
The Prince also posed for a selfie with the choir, who opened the Tokyo Sports Summit, according to the Daily Mail.
The interaction was well-documented on social media, with the University sharing it on Instagram, where it gained over 4,000 likes.
One person wrote: "Harry exudes love & empathy. He is truly his mother’s son."
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Harry was attending the ISPS Sports Values Summit-Special Edition
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Another said: "So warm and genuine like his late mom."
The choir Harry shared a hug with are from South Africa, and the Prince has long shared a special connection to the continent.
The Duke has also engaged in various philanthropic and personal trips to Africa over the years.
He launched his charity Sentebale with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, which aims to help young people in Africa affected by poverty, HIV/AIDS and now Covid-19.
Next up on his Asian tour is Singapore, where he will play his charity Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Club on August 12.