Prince William, Prince Harry Launch Friend’s Memorial Fund

Prince William and Prince Harry are joint patrons of the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund, a charity set up in honor of a former schoolmate of Prince William.

Prince William looks on proudly after his brother Prince Harry’s speech at the launch of the Henry Van Strawbenzee Memorial Fund on January 8, 2009.

Henry van Sraubenzee died in a car crash in 2002, when he was an 18-year-old army officer recruit. He was supposed to go to Sandhurst when he was killed in the accident. The fund was established by his parents, Alex and Claire van Sraubenzee, to help children in Uganda get a better education. Part of the charity’s mission statement says:

We aim to improve the quality of education in Ugandan schools by investing in buildings and educational resources. We form partnerships with schools to assist them to become centres for excellence and to ensure that even the poorest children have access to high quality education.

The charity is the first that Prince William and Prince Harry are co-patrons of. In his speech at the formal launch in London on January 8, 2009, Prince William recalled the death of his mother Princess Diana.

“Having lost someone so close in similar circumstances, Harry and I understand how important it is to keep their memory alive, there’s no finer way than that Alex and Claire have chosen.

"This is the first charity of which we have both been patrons and it couldn’t have been a better one, as Henry was such a very close friend of ours and because we believe so strongly in the need to alleviate poverty and assist development in African countries."

Prince William also said that the decision to be involved in the charity was the easiest he has had to make.

Here are some photos of the two princes arriving for the official launch at The Troubadour club in London. (click on images for bigger views)

source: PA; Image credits: Newscom (top); splashnewsonline.com (bottom four)