LONDON, Sept 5 (AFP) - Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne and the youngest son of the late Princess Diana, has made a documentary film about the plight of the AIDS-stricken nation of Lesotho, a royal spokeswoman said.
During eight weeks in the impoverished southern African country as part of his sabbatical year, Harry, 19, shot some of the footage for "The Forgotten Kingdom: Prince Harry In Lesotho" himself using a hand-held video camera.
The documentary follows some of the work he did at projects such as the Mants'ase Children's Home in Mohale's Hoek in Lesotho which was set up for children orphaned by and suffering from AIDS.
HIV and AIDS affect around 31 percent of adults in Lesotho's population of 1.8 million, while nearly 30 million people in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from the disease which has left some 11 million children orphaned on the continent.
Harry's late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, was famed for her AIDS charity work, breaking taboos through her close contact with patients who contracted the illness.
"Harry wanted to go to Lesotho to learn more about the problems faced in a country affected by AIDS and to do what he could to help," said a royal spokeswoman Saturday.
"He was really affected by his experience there and by the people he met," she said. "He hopes that his visit and now the film will help to raise awareness and money to help tackle the problems faced by people in Lesotho."
The documentary contains interviews with doctors, aid workers and Prince Seiso, the brother of Lesotho's King Letsie III who put together the itinerary for Harry's stay.
AIDS has been declared a national emergency in the poor and mountainous country where life expectancy has dropped to 36.
Lesotho won independence in 1966 from Britain.
Harry's programme, said to be his own idea, will be broadcast on Britain's ITV television channel later in September.
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