Prince Harry’s actions were met with a quick brush off by the mother of activist Malala Yousafzai after the pair posed for a photo
13:48, 03 Nov 2025Updated 13:48, 03 Nov 2025
Malala Yousafzai revealed her mum’s reaction to Prince Harry’s action
Prince Harry was pushed away from Malala Yousafzai by her mum in what the activist has labelled a “terrifying” moment. Despite labelling the Duke of Sussex as “sweet”, Malala has said her mother wasn’t impressed by his antics.
Malala, now 28, was treated in Birmingham after surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban in 2012. And she has since revealed her meeting with a royal didn’t go completely to plan.
She went to pose alongside the prince after becoming the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 aged 17. She won the award for her fight for the right of all children to education.
READ MORE: Prince William’s constant worry about what George, Charlotte and Louis will inheritREAD MORE: I’m A Celeb’s Ant McPartlin moves out of home after war with neighbours
Malala Yousafzai opened up to Lorraine(Image: Alex Davidson – ECB, ECB via Getty Images)
But speaking to Lorraine Kelly on her morning ITV show, she admitted her mum stopped Harry in his tracks. Lorraine told Malala: “I know that you met Prince Harry and your mum was not happy at certain things he was trying to do.”
The activist responded: “Yeah, I mean Prince Harry was very, very sweet and he put his arm around me when we were taking a photo together, and my mum because of the culture, it’s a man putting an arm around a girl. I was a little girl and she just went up to Prince Harry and she shoved off his hand and said, ‘Remove – no touch.’
“I was terrified when that was happening – poor Prince Harry, his face went red. He was then very very respectful but in that moment, I was thinking of what my mum had seen growing up as a kid.
“She had a different life, she never went to school, her friends were married off at early ages. She was trying to protect her daughter, I fully get that. It’s a conversation because we need to be breaking these stereotypes and we need to challenge patriarchy.”
Malala said Harry was ‘very sweet'(Image: Hasan Minhaj/YouTube)
While the first meeting between the pair could be looked back on as a slightly awkward moment, the duo have since spoke again. In 2020, Harry and his wife Meghan Markle joined Malala for a virtual chat.
The discussion took place during the Covid-19 pandemic. They entered the call to celebrate International Day of the Girl.
During the chat, the royals discussed the importance of a girl’s right to a fair education with the Nobel laureate. They also chatted about the Covid-19 outbreak and the impact it had on the access for young women to get an education.
Meghan told Malala on the call: “Just thank you so much for having us on such an important day. For girls all over the world, when young girls have access to education, everyone wins and succeeds. It opens the door for societal success.”
After Malala asked the Sussexes about their own education, Meghan replied: “In terms of education, not only did I have the ability to go to school at a young age but I also went to university.”
Harry confessed he took his education for granted, “It is a privilege but every single person, every single young person across the world needs an education.
“To know there are 113 million girls out of education, the numbers only going to go up. It worries me and probably worried all of us, the effect of that [a lack of education for women] has not only on the family but also on society as well.”
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
READ MORE: Garnier’s ‘chic and stress-free’ hair dye mask that works in 30 mins now £8