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Prince Harry is letting out his inner child.
Kensington Palace just released never-before-seen photos from the 33-year-old royal’s solo trip to Lesotho, Africa, last month, where he opened a school and a house on behalf of the Sentebale charity he co-founded with his friend Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006.
Harry got up close and personal with the kids of the Mamohato Children’s Centre and Mamohato Children’s Camp, even letting a little one try on his sunglasses. He sweetly smiled while gazing at the child, who held a yellow balloon and put on a grin for the camera with the shades on.
Prince Harry bends down to get on the level of a little boy dressed in colorful clothing in another snap, while a shot by Getty Images’ Chris Jackson shows Harry running among a bunch of kids with a huge smile across his face.
“As always Prince Harry, not one to stand by and watch, got stuck in as the children from the Mamohato Children’s Centre and played games as part of a programme that educates and helps empower them to take control of their future,” wrote the photographer — who is expecting his first child with his wife, Kate Middleton‘s stylist Natasha Archer — on Instagram.
Local Teboho Letsoha previously shared a photo of the newlywed sharing a moment with a local boy and wrote, “My village. My people. My heart.”
“So humbled! Words cannot and will not express this insurmountable joy that a brother is feeling,” he continued. “To the #Duke of #Sussex thank you #PrinceHarry.”
Prince Harry flew first class on a commercial flight to Joahannesburg two days after accompanying his bride Meghan Markle on her Royal Ascot debut alongside Queen Elizabeth, 92.
Meghan, 36, did not travel with her husband on the low-key Africa trip, a spokesperson for Kensington Palace confirmed to PEOPLE.
Harry was also set to attend a board meeting of Africa Parks, a conservation charity he supports and has worked for, in Botswana.
“The Duke was on a private visit to see the work of Sentebale at a camp for vulnerable children and young people, as well as other projects funded by the charity,” said the spokesperson for the Sentebale. “During his private working visit to Sentebale in Lesotho, The Duke visited one of Sentebale’s community-led partners for the opening of a new dining hall. This was funded by the charity and will provide a space for children to eat together and have an indoor space to play.”
Africa holds a special place in Prince Harry’s heart. The royal has traveled extensively across the continent since he was a young boy and previously described it as the one place he feels “more like myself than anywhere in the world.” Along with his work for Sentebale — which means “forget me not” in the Sesotho — he is patron of Rhino Conservation Botswana.
Harry’s work with Sentebale continued on Monday during a trip to Amsterdam for the International Aids Conference, where he was joined by young advocates from his charity to discuss issues faced by teenagers with HIV.
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE
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