Prince Harry Enjoys ‘Sweet’ FaceTime with Meghan Markle, Archie and Lilibet Before Taking the Stage in N.Y.C.

Despite his jam-packed schedule, Harry made time to FaceTime his family—a moment that one recipient of The Diana Award described to PEOPLE as “so sweet”

Prince Harry at the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City on Sept. 23, 2024. Photo: John Nacion/Getty

As Prince Harry’s trip to New York City kicked off, his family back home in California was on his mind.

On Sept. 23, the Duke of Sussex, 40, FaceTimed his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, before he hit the stage at the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit in N.Y.C.

While chatting with his family, Harry panned the camera around the room, giving his children a mini virtual tour of the event space at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel.

On the first day of his visit to New York City, Harry highlighted The Diana Award, the only charity established in his mother Princess Diana’s memory, in a panel discussion on mental health. The Duke of Sussex was joined by Dr. Tessy Ojo, CEO of the Diana Award, along with two recipients of the Diana Legacy Award: Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang, 18, and Christina Williams, 27.

“He is just so kind-hearted. Not only was he helping us get comfortable with speaking on stage, but he comforted us after as well,” Zhang told PEOPLE at the event. “And backstage, he was actually calling Meghan. I thought that was just so sweet, and it helped humanize him. He made sure we had no nerves at all.”

Prince Harry FaceTimes his family at The Diana Award event in N.Y.C. on Sept. 23, 2024.Sussex.com

Williams added, “Here is someone who is in a high-level role, who really cares about young people, cares about our voices and our actions. They say you never want to meet your heroes, but I met someone who I admire and I am leaving the experience still maintaining that admiration, or even more admiration, to know that he really cares about the causes that he represents.”

(From left) Princess Lilibet, Prince Harry, Prince Archie and Meghan Markle in the Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan,” which premiered in December 2022. Netflix/Youtube
Prince Harry Says the Younger Generation ‘Give Me Hope’ at Event Tied to Mom Princess Diana

Harry and Meghan, 43, are known to keep in close touch with their kids when they’re away from home. When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Canada for the Invictus Games’ One Year to Go event in February, Meghan memorably took photos on her phone of Harry trying to adaptive ski to “show the kids.”

Prince Harry, Williams, Zhang and Ojo came together for a discussion around the mental health crisis facing young people today and spoke about solutions to improve outcomes for their generation. The same day, The Diana Award announced the launch of its “Decade of Youth Wellbeing” amid its 25th anniversary year. A statement described the initiative as “a bold, ambitious and collaborative plan to harness the power [of] young people, like Christina and Chiara, to lead positive change.”

For the Duke of Sussex, that encouragement and optimism begins behind the scenes.

(From left) Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang, Christina Williams, Prince Harry and Dr. Tessy Ojo CBE at the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City on Sept. 23, 2024.Sipa via AP Images

“I think he was very encouraging of us, saying that we’re going to go out there, we’re going to do a great job. He also spoke about the things that he was very passionate about, like the climate, trying to destigmatize mental health, bringing it down to a level of everybody’s business,” Williams told PEOPLE. “It’s about mental health, but also about mental fitness and mental wellbeing. So I think that was really good to warm us up for the stage and just put us in a place where we just spoke from the heart.”

Prince Harry and his brother Prince William both support The Diana Award, and each appeared (Harry virtually, and William in person) at a London event celebrating the organization’s 25th anniversary in March, where they connected with the 20 Legacy Award winners from around the world.

“We are so honored, and what a privilege to have both her sons who support this work. And it is their mother’s legacy. They are both immensely committed to driving change,” Ojo told PEOPLE at the Concordia Summit about what it means to have both of the late Princess of Wales’ sons champion the cause. “We know it’s a privilege to have their support, and we will continue to work to make them proud and to keep their mother’s legacy alive.”

Prince Harry and Dr. Tessy Ojo CBE at the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City on Sept. 23, 2024.Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty

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The Diana Award panel was one of the first of many stops for the Duke of Sussex during his trip to N.Y.C. He undertook an engagement with The HALO Trust later in the day on Sept. 23, a patronage his late mother was closely associated with before her death in 1997. As his visit continues Sept. 24, he is expected to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative and outings around African Parks and Travalyst.