A poster made for Prince Harry during his visit to the charity Touching Tiny Lives in rural Lesotho. (Photo: Touching Tiny Lives)

Prince Harry is currently in Africa doing work with his charity, Sentebale.

On Tuesday, Prince Harry was joined by Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, who co-founded the charity with him, when he visited the charity Touching Tiny Lives, a blog post for the organization said.

“Their visit was complete with arrival by helicopter and Prince Harry dancing with our very own Tsepo, who happily took center stage in the safe-home,” the post said.

Sentebale is a non-profit organization that helps children who are the victims of extreme poverty and Lesotho’s HIV/AIDS epidemic, the organization’s website says.

On Wednesday, the prince will visit the Maseru district of Lesotho, stopping at two of Sentebale’s community-based partners which care for children with disabilities and those whom are orphaned, a release from the charity said.

Wednesday evening, he’ll be at a gala in Johannesburg to launch new fundraising efforts.

Harry is working with his charity during the three day trip. Reports he was set to meet his latest girlfriend’s parents at the wedding of Sir Richard Branson’s son after that were apparently wrong as the Express reports Harry won’t be attending the wedding with Cressida Bonas. The wedding is taking place in near Kruger National Park in South Africa.

“I am told Harry is not going at all. He is there on a charity mission. His relationship is going well, but after the skiing pictures I think some in the media are getting a bit ahead of themselves,” a source said.

Harry was seen cuddling up to Bonas on the ski slopes in Switzerland last week and many headlines reported on their supposed “love nest” and some even described Bonas as “marriage material.”

Cressida Bonas is seen in this file photo leaving a party where she and Prince Harry were spotted together last July. (Photo: Tony Clark/WENN.com)

Prince Harry, it seems from media reports, has a new girlfriend.

Cressida Bonas is her name. From the Herald Sun’s article, 12 things you need to know about Cressida Bonas, (none of which we actually need to know) we learned she studies contemporary dance and the two dated last spring, then those photos of Harry with his pants down in Vegas were leaked and they broke up for a bit.

But now we can all breathe a sigh of relief – it appears they’re back together.

But alongside stories about Harry buying her boots, and their skiing love nest (they’re at the Swiss ski resort of Verbier for Prince Andrew’s birthday), are the more hilarious stories making this relationship seem far more serious than it probably is.

A friend told the Mirror the lovebirds’ relationship is  ”developing into a true romance.” The two are set to attend a wedding together (a big step for some) while the Aussie website news.com.au has the headline, “Are Prince Harry and girlfriend Cressida set to tie the knot?” The first sentence of this story says Bonas is the “strongest ‘marriage material’” Harry has dated in a long time. (Not to mention, the Telegraph reported last August he should get married to give the nation “something to smile about.”)

Why are we all so keen to marry off the playboy prince?

And, no offense – while Bonas might be “marriage material,” what makes us all so sure Harry is?

Sure, he’s back from his second tour in Afghanistan and is about to embark on a trip to Africa for his charity (and while he’s down there, Bonas and he will attend the wedding of mutual friends). He’s also getting set to head to the U.S. this spring to do some work for Britain’s foreign office (perhaps to take over duties from his uncle, Prince Andrew, who more than once has been called out for not always being on the up-and-up).

But that does not mean Harry is ready to settle down. And I don’t think anyone should be in a rush to make it seem like he is because that will only end in disappointment.

British media have been writing editorials and blasting a speech given by author Hilary Mantel recently in which she describes Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, as appearing “to have been designed by a committee and built by craftsmen, with a perfect plastic smile and the spindles of her limbs hand-turned and gloss-varnished.”

Author Hilary Mantel. (Photo: HarperCollins)

The Daily Mail called the speech a “venomous attack” on the duchess, while Reuters called it a “withering attack.” The Telegraph said Mantel doesn’t know Kate, so she shouldn’t “fictionalize” her.

Even U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron slammed Mantel for her comments.

Mantel begins her speech saying she was at a festival last summer when she was asked to name a famous person and choose what book she would give them.

“I chose Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and I chose to give her a book published in 2006, by the cultural historian Caroline Weber; it’s called Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution,” Mantel said.

“It’s not that I think we’re heading for a revolution. It’s rather that I saw Kate becoming a jointed doll on which certain rags are hung. In those days she was a shop-window mannequin, with no personality of her own, entirely defined by what she wore. These days she is a mother-to-be, and draped in another set of threadbare attributions. Once she gets over being sick, the press will find that she is radiant. They will find that this young woman’s life until now was nothing, her only point and purpose being to give birth.”

Editors jumped on those comments, but in subsequent interviews, Mantel asked people to read the speech for themselves before they judge her based on the media reports.

Thankfully, you can read it – the London Review of Books has published it online.

The speech is actually a fascinating look at royal women – in particular, the wives of Henry VIII (as Mantel is currently promoting her fictional books about Thomas Cromwell), but she also discusses Kate and Diana.

Mantel says royal women are regarded for their ability to produce children – even dating back to the reign of Henry VIII and his many wives.

“When it was announced that Diana was to join the royal family, the Duke of Edinburgh is said to have given her his approval because she would ‘breed in some height.’ Presumably Kate was designed to breed in some manners. She looks like a nicely brought up young lady, with ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ part of her vocabulary,” Mantel said, later comparing the royals to pandas.

“I used to think that the interesting issue was whether we should have a monarchy or not. But now I think that question is rather like, should we have pandas or not? Our current royal family doesn’t have the difficulties in breeding that pandas do, but pandas and royal persons alike are expensive to conserve and ill-adapted to any modern environment. But aren’t they interesting? Aren’t they nice to look at? Some people find them endearing; some pity them for their precarious situation; everybody stares at them, and however airy the enclosure they inhabit, it’s still a cage.”

She does refer to Kate as being “precision-made, machine-made.” She also says Kate is “so different from Diana whose human awkwardness and emotional incontinence showed in her every gesture. Diana was capable of transforming herself from galumphing schoolgirl to ice queen, from wraith to Amazon. Kate seems capable of going from perfect bride to perfect mother, with no messy deviation.”

She also says the royal family is nothing more than “breeding stock.”

“In looking at royalty we are always looking at what is archaic, what is mysterious by its nature, and my feeling is that it will only ever half-reveal itself. This poses a challenge to historians and to those of us who work imaginatively with the past. Royal persons are both gods and beasts. They are persons but they are supra-personal, carriers of a blood line: at the most basic, they are breeding stock, collections of organs,” she said.

But in the end, Mantel doesn’t attack Kate – rather she calls on people to “back off and not be brutes” – a message that seems particularly apt when you consider there was a media circus when Kate went out in public Tuesday, with every photographer and reporter focusing on her baby bump.

This is an unedited photo as it appeared on the wire from a “pool” photographer. The cutline with the photo notes the person in the middle, whose head is not visible, is the duchess “cradling her baby bump” as she speaks with trustees at Hope House charity in south London. (Photo: Mary Turner/AFP)

“It may be that the whole phenomenon of monarchy is irrational, but that doesn’t mean that when we look at it we should behave like spectators at Bedlam. Cheerful curiosity can easily become cruelty. It can easily become fatal. We don’t cut off the heads of royal ladies these days, but we do sacrifice them, and we did memorably drive one to destruction a scant generation ago,” she said.

While much of the weekend gossip was about Prince Harry flirting with a member of the Pussycat Dolls, there was a piece of real news: Harry will be visiting the U.S. in May as a foreign office ambassador.

He will be visiting a number of cities, including New York and Washington, D.C., in an effort to boost foreign trade, Hello magazine reported.

No doubt nightclubs will not be on the agenda this time around as Harry will be in the U.S. in an official capacity and not a private vacation like his trip to Vegas last August.

Chi magazine ran the topless photos of Kate last fall, including this cover with the headline, “The queen is nude!” The magazine is now reportedly set to publish photos of a pregnant Kate walking on a beach during a private vacation. (Photo: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP)

Those photos of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, strolling along the beach in a bikini and showing her baby bump will be published by the Italian magazine Chi.

Officials have said the royal family is upset by the “clear breach” of Kate’s privacy. She and Prince William are currently in Mystique on vacation with her family. That is where the photos were taken.

The same magazine printed topless photos of the duchess last fall.

UPDATE: The Australian magazine Women’s Day is also set to publish the snaps. Editor Fiona Connolly said the pictures were taken by a fellow tourist – not the paparazzi, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“There is a huge interest in Kate. Here she is on a public beach mixing with other holiday makers. These photos have not been taken by a professional photographer hiding in the bushes. They are not nude photos taken with a telescopic lens from inside a private villa. These are images showing her on a happy holiday … and she looks amazing,” Connolly said.

“The last time we saw Kate in public she was very ill. She was coming out of hospital, which means there is even more reason to celebrate her looking so healthy and glowing.”

I’ve said there’s no need for the photos, but others disagree.

What do you think? Is it OK to take and/or publish these shots?

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, at the viewing of her first official portrait last month. (Photo: John Stillwell/POOL/AFP)

There are reports someone has taken photos of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, while on a private holiday in Mustique with her parents and Prince William.

The photos are said to be of Kate in a “skimpy” bikini and you can see her baby bump. She is walking along the shore with Wills during what is being dubbed their “babymoon” and the exclusive and very expensive private island getaway.

The photos have been offered to the British media, who have turned them down.

“The Sunday People has chosen not to view the pictures and, like the rest of the British media, will not publish them,” the Mirror reported on the weekend. “But they are likely to spark a bidding war in the U.S., Australia and Europe.”

Last fall, the French magazine Closer was the first to publish topless shots of Kate on a private vacation with William in France. The photographer in that case, who is said to have taken the photos from a nearby road with a very, very long lens, is being sued by the royals.

When news came out last week that the couple were vacationing in Mustique, I immediately wondered whether shots of Kate would surface. It is probably just a matter of time (and money) before we see them. There are, no doubt, lots of people who want the photos – the photographer is just be trying to get the most money possible.

I do agree with the British media – these photos are an invasion of her privacy. She’s in a very private location where the photographer would have gone to great lengths to get these shots. She’s not on some regular beach, she’s not at some resort, and the photos weren’t taken by any of the guests on the island. In my mind, she’s not “in public.”

Given that she had a rough start to her pregnancy with severe morning sickness, I don’t think it’s fair she now has to worry about these photos – although, on the other hand, I am sure she will look absolutely radiant in them and will be the envy of every other pregnant woman.

Kate will be making a public appearance later this month where we’ll all get to see her growing belly. OK, she’ll be wearing clothing and not a bikini, but do we really need to see her growing belly in the flesh? I think most people understand the concept of pregnancy – stomachs get big and round. That’s why there’s the need for special clothing.

Just leave her alone. Please. We do not need to see her in a bikini, especially when she goes to such lengths to avoid being seen.

Many people turn to the online crafters’ marketplace Etsy when they need a fun gift or something to make a big moment in their lives (a wedding, birthday, new baby). Many Etsy sellers capitalized on the royal wedding when they were selling items (putting the words into descriptions for items that clearly had nothing to do with the royal wedding), but so far, items that come up when you search “royal baby” are pretty normal (lots of royal blue items).

Here are the top 10 items I found that could potentially work for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s little bundle of joy:

1. You start with a shower invitation.

2. Then come the gifts, like a onesie.

Or if it’s a girl:

3. Maybe some Crown Royal booties?

4. An outfit perfect for Prince Charming.

5. And some bibs – always need bibs.

6. If the duke and duchess are going to be “green” parents, they’ll need some cloth diapers.

7. Some bedding, perhaps?

8. A blinged out pacifier is a must.

9. Who doesn’t need some personalized artwork?

10. Lastly, how about a crown made for a baby?

Or this one,

Maybe this one?

Or maybe even a complete set.

Oh my gosh, I can’t stop. This one has a cape!

OK, one more, because it’s super fancy.

Err, I lied (this is for the pattern, though)

**NOTE: Photos are from Etsy shops – click underlined text above the photo to go to this item/the shop.

Prince Harry speaking to the media in November while stationed in Afghanistan. (Photo: John Stillwell/REUTERS)

I think Prince Harry is pretty cool. He’s a veteran – having served two tours in Afghanistan. He seems like a nice enough guy when he’s been out for public events (although I suppose that’s his job, being a member of the royal family). And we all know he likes to have fun.

But dude needs a serious reality check.

This week he ended his tour in Afghanistan and as part of that, he did an exit interview with the media. In it, he basically blasted the media for being jerks.

Newspapers published stories and photos of him after he was caught with his pants not only down, but completely off, while playing pool with some girls during a private vacation in Vegas. He said he should have been able to expect some privacy.

He called the media out over the fact that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had to announce their pregnancy early.

He also told a TV producer, “I never wanted you guys to be out here, but there was an agreement made to invite you out on the deal that the media didn’t speculate before my deployment. That’s the only reason you guys are out here.”

Harry very clearly has a huge chip on his shoulder and, frankly, he needs to get over it. Now.

Yes, the media published photos of him cavorting naked in Vegas. But, the prince did absolutely nothing to prevent those photos from ever existing – he and his entourage invited some random girls up to their suite to hang out and, apparently, play billiards naked. At no point did he or his friends tell anyone in that room no cellphones, no cameras, no recording devices of any kind. Were they afraid the girls would say no to partying with them if they put stipulations like that on the evening?

So, someone from that room realizes, “Hey, I’ve got naked photos of that prince guy – I should totally sell them and make a boatload of cash!”

In the U.S., where the photos were taken and first published, Prince Harry is nothing but an adorable red-headed prince from another country. His title means basically nothing to Americans. He’s just another celebrity – and websites like TMZ (which first published the snaps) thrive because there is a certain level of obsession with celebrities.

Harry seems to expect the media not to report on the bad details of his life. (Photo: Twitter/QMI AGENCY)

The naked photos make news in the U.S. – does he actually expect British newspapers or media outlets around the world to ignore it?

Sure, you can expect privacy when you ensure what you’re doing is private. Unlike the photos of Wills and Kate taken during a vacation in France (topless shots were taken by a photographer hiding out with a telephoto lens), Harry let someone into that room with a camera, let them take pictures, didn’t tell them to delete them and then expected them to magically stay off the front pages of newspapers and gossip websites.

As for it being the media’s fault that Kate and William had to announce their pregnancy early, well, I don’t believe that’s the case. I think palace officials made the move to announce the pregnancy because they were afraid someone inside the hospital would leak the information – if the British papers didn’t pick it up (as they do tend to shy away from reporting rumours), a gossip website would. Then there would be more fighting between the royals and the papers about how information is released.

It wasn’t a case of the media hounding the poor couple about their pregnancy, or having spies in all hospitals just in case Kate came in. It was the palace realizing the news was about to get out due to Kate’s illness and her need to be hospitalized, and releasing the information.

Prince Harry and Prince William have long hated the media, blaming newspapers/magazines/photographers/TV stations for their mother’s death.

But the brothers have also long been shielded from the media. Photos were released by the palace of the boys growing up instead of photographers following them around, interviews were given only until strict supervision – it was an agreement between the media and the palace to let the boys grow up.

The agreement, however, seems to have just soured Harry and William more to the media – the press is a necessary evil, but both brothers seem to be of the opinion they’d rather do without reporters and photographers.

(Photo: Daniel Sorabji/AFP)

The problem with that is, if we in the media stop covering their good deeds and public appearances, then the general public forgets they exist, or worse, start to question what we need a royal family for anyway. Why do tax dollars go to support the monarchy when they offer nothing to the people?

But, if the media covers the royal family, then we see they do good things – a big part of which is working with charities.

Unfortunately for Harry and William, coverage by the media doesn’t just mean we show up for the good stuff. It also means we’re there for the bad.

Both princes need to buck up and stop this whining that “the media is a bunch of jerks.” Instead, don’t give us the bad stuff to report on.

There are ways to stay out of the headlines, Harry. Don’t blame the media when you do something stupid and it gets reported on – that’s like burning your tongue with hot tea and blaming the tea.

The media isn’t going away, Harry. So learn to live with it.

“It was probably a classic example of me probably being too much army and not enough prince. It’s a simple case of that. I was in a private area and there should be a certain amount of privacy that one should expect. At the end of the day, I probably let myself down, I let my family down, I let other people down.”

- Prince Harry on those infamous Vegas photos

This photo taken Nov. 1 shows Prince Harry at a mission briefing at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, where he was serving as an Apache helicopter pilot/gunner. (PHOTO: John Stillwell/AFP)

Prince Harry has spoken out about those photos of him playing naked pool in Vegas last summer, telling media outlets he knows he embarrassed himself and his family, but printing the photos was an invasion of privacy by the press.

He said he didn’t think the way he was treated by the newspapers was “acceptable” after the celebrity gossip website TMZ posted the photos on their website. They got the photos from someone who was in the room with the prince at the time of the naked game of billiards.

He said he should have been able to expect some privacy.

True, dear Harry, and while I don’t really care that you were romping around naked with some ladies in your private hotel room on your private vacation, I do think you could have been more careful. Check cellphones and cameras at the door, for one.

For a guy who has been blasted by the tabloids before for his partying ways, you’d think he’d have learned a lesson or two about keeping himself off the front pages. It’s not the media’s fault you let your guard (and clothes) down and someone realized they could make a bit of cash selling those photos.

Harry spoke to the media while stationed at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan and continued to express his frustration with the press for not just himself, but also his brother and sister-in-law, who had to announce earlier than they planned that they are expecting a baby.

“I can’t wait to be an uncle. I think it’s very unfair that they were both forced to publicize it when they were, but that’s just the media for you. I just only hope that she and him, but mainly Catherine, hopefully that she gets the necessary protection to allow her as a mother-to-be to enjoy the privacy that that comes with,” he said.

He also told a TV producer who was in Afghanistan:  ”I never wanted you guys to be out here, but there was an agreement made to invite you out on the deal that the media didn’t speculate before my deployment. That’s the only reason you guys are out here.”

Harry has now completed his second tour in Afghanistan.

Prince William in a Sea King helicopter. (PHOTO: John Stillwell/AFP)

Prince William is envious that his brother gets to fight in Afghanistan, Prince Harry says.

“I think there is a bit of jealousy, not just the fact that I get to fly this, but obviously he’d love to be out here. And to be honest with you, I don’t see why he couldn’t,” Harry told the Telegraph.

He said his brother, who currently works as a search and rescue pilot, could fly helicopters to pick up wounded soldiers.

“His job out here would be flying the IRT (immediate response team), or whatever, doing Chinook missions. Just the same as us. No one knows who’s in the cockpit,” he told reporter Gordon Rayner.

“Yes, you get shot at. But if the guys who are doing the same job as us are being shot at on the ground, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with us being shot at as well.

“People back home will have issues with that, but we’re not special. The guys out there are. Simple as that.”

Prince William isn’t permitted to take part in the fighting in Afghanistan – or any active service – because it’s considered too dangerous for the future king.

What do you think?