Prince Harry and his girlfriend Meghan Markle left for Africa on Friday for what has been described as a "romantic vacation," but it is not likely he will propose to her. Fans will no doubt be bitterly disappointed if the engagements rumors come to nothing.
Prince Harry's biographer, Penny Junor was reported by the UK Express as saying that the reason he chose to take girlfriend Markle to Botswana in Africa for their vacation, is because this "is the “best opportunity” the prince will ever have to show his American actress girlfriend, Markle who he really is, without the public attention and having to carry out public duties."
Prince Harry finds calm in Africa
Prince Harry, like other royals before him, seems to find peace and calm in Africa, and it is not just through the experience of romance in the wilds that they find this calm.
Africa is a wonderful destination for the rich and famous who really do want to just get away from it all - away from the scrutiny of fans and media and just be themselves.
Prince Harry, Clint Eastwood, Eric Clapton and other famous people visit Africa because quite frankly, as a born and bred African, I can vouch for the fact that very few people in Africa care very much what anybody is doing to earn a living.
Celebs are appreciated for their entertainment value and singers are enjoyed for their music, but at the end of the day, they are just people with a job to do, like a doctor or a waitress or a game warden. Harry is a prince and Meghan is an actress, but - "good for you, you can buy the first round of drinks," - is the most likely attitude of people who live in Africa.
Meghan Markle won't have fans panting over her glam
Africans like or dislike people for who they are rather than for what they can take from them. There are not millions of fans eagerly trying to vicariously capture some of the glam from the potential royal couple in Africa.
Prince Harry really can just be himself in Botswana and he can afford to do it in the relative privacy of game lodges.
Paparazzi would have a great deal of difficulty getting to the remote and well-secured lodges for a start and those who did manage it would very likely have to encounter the Big Five, not to mention armed anti-poaching teams who protect the wildlife in the wilderness.
Prince Harry has taken other girlfriends to Africa, very possibly for the same reason.
If they did not work out, possibly they did not really like the man under the glam, or vice versa. It is possible to dress well and there is no need to "slum'' it in the wilderness, but Africa has a way of stripping people down to their very basic layers.
Africa, the place for Harry and Markle to find themselves and each other
If you want to kiss your lover in Africa, well go ahead and kiss Meghan Markle, Harry. If you want to just chill in the sunset and drink a beer nobody will be writing down for posterity the fact that you had one, two, or even three glasses.
Africa is often described as vibrant, but that vibrancy is hard to explain. It is not the humming vibrancy of crowds at an event. Rather, it can be found when hearing the spine-tingling call of the lions in the night, and the trumpeting of elephants in the dawn.
It is in the sweet scent of dry bushveld meeting water at the pan, feeling that hot wind that carries the spirit of ancient Africa into your soul: these are the things that somehow peel away the layers.
As they stand in the sunset of their day in Africa, the only thing weighing on their shoulders will be the vast skies of the African Continent. If they don't find real love at least they will find themselves and their real place on earth.
The Desiderata could have been written for people like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as they visit Africa. "Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass."
