{"id":466930,"date":"2025-10-01T22:57:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T22:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/466930\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T22:57:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T22:57:22","slug":"harry-and-meghan-lead-tributes-as-conservationist-jane-goodall-dies-aged-91-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/466930\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry and Meghan lead tributes as conservationist Jane Goodall dies aged 91 \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have paid tribute to conservationist and chimpanzee expert Dame Jane Goodall following her death at the age of 91, describing her as \u201ca visionary humanitarian, scientist, friend to the planet, and friend to us\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dame Jane, who was the world\u2019s leading expert on chimpanzee behaviour and defender of their habitat, was in California on a speaking tour when she died from \u201cnatural causes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Harry, who forged a close bond with the famed primatologist, recalled in a joint statement with Meghan on Wednesday how Dame Jane held their son Prince Archie as a newborn baby and \u201cshowered love and care to those who were privileged to know her\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"DameDame Jane Goodall who has died aged 91 (Yui Mok\/PA) <\/p>\n

Harry and Meghan told how they would deeply miss her,\u00a0saying: \u201cDr Jane Goodall DBE was a visionary humanitarian, scientist, friend to the planet, and friend to us.<\/p>\n

\"Samantha<\/a>\"Police<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHer commitment to changing lives extends beyond what the world saw, and also to what we personally felt.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe held our son, Archie, when he was first born, and showered love and care to those who were privileged to know her. She will be deeply missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sussexes welcomed Dame Jane to their then-home Frogmore Cottage in 2019 where she cuddled their baby son Archie, then just five weeks old.<\/p>\n

\"HarryHarry hugging Dame Jane Goodall when he attended her Roots & Shoots global leadership meeting at Windsor Castle in July 2019 (Kirsty Wigglesworth\/PA) <\/p>\n

The duke went on to take part in a meeting of her Roots and Shoots youth empowerment project at Windsor Castle, and the two kept in touch over the years.<\/p>\n

The conservationist recalled how they had \u201cclicked\u201d during their first encounter at Kensington Palace in December 2018.<\/p>\n

Greenpeace, the global campaigning organisation dedicated to the environment, remembered Dame Jane as a \u201ctireless advocate\u201d who inspired \u201cmillions\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"DameDame Jane Goodall kisses Pola, a 14-month-old chimpanzee from the Budapest Zoo, in 2004 (Bela Szandelszky\/AP) (BELA SZANDELSZKY\/AP) <\/p>\n

The British primatologist took to the Greenpeace stage at Glastonbury Festival last year and spoke about the planet, loss of biodiversity and climate change in a speech where she also acknowledged that \u201cyoung people are still losing hope\u201d.<\/p>\n

Greenpeace\u2019s co-executive director in the UK, Will McCallum, said in a statement to the PA news agency: \u201cWe\u2019re heartbroken to learn that Dr Jane Goodall has passed away. She was one of the true conservation giants of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said her \u201cpioneering research\u201d transformed our understanding of chimpanzees and their habitat and was a \u201ctireless advocate\u201d for the protection of wildlife and forests, inspiring millions to act.<\/p>\n

\"DameDame Jane Goodall on the Greenpeace stage during the Glastonbury Festival 2024 (Ben Birchall\/PA) <\/p>\n

\u201cDr Goodall\u2019s legacy is not only in science but in the global movement she helped spark to protect nature and give hope for a better world,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s now incumbent upon all of us to honour her legacy by continuing the fight to protect the world\u2019s forests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham said Dame Jane was \u201cremarkable\u201d and hailed her work as \u201crevolutionary\u201d.<\/p>\n

He told BBC News: \u201cTo have lost a hero at a time when we need all of them on the front line fighting for the future of life on Earth, it is a tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Heartbroken to hear of Dr. Jane Goodall\u2019s passing. She was a pioneer whose research and advocacy reshaped our understanding of the natural world. Her wisdom and compassion will live on in every act of conservation.\u00a0All of us who were so greatly inspired by her will miss her\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/NM5HEyftzJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Former prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, former US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and jailed Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes were among the other public figures who hailed her lifetime of work.<\/p>\n

Maria Shriver, the former first lady of California, called her \u201ca legendary figure and a friend\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said in a post to X: \u201cShe stayed at her mission and on her mission. She changed the world and the lives of everyone she impacted. The world lost one of its best today, and I lost someone I adored.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Jane Goodall was a legendary figure and a friend. I admired her, learned from her, and was so honored to get to spend time with her over the years. She stayed at her mission and on her mission. She changed the world and the lives of everyone she impacted. The world lost one of\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/P0n5wk1Cpm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) October 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Born in London in 1934, Dame Jane began researching free-living chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960.<\/p>\n

She arrived at Gombe Stream National Park on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in July of that year, a time when it was unheard of for a woman to venture into the wilds of Africa.<\/p>\n

It was there she observed a chimpanzee named David Greybeard make a tool from twigs and use it to fish termites from a nest, a ground-breaking observation that challenged the definition of humans as the single species capable of making tools.<\/p>\n

Her research on chimpanzees was the longest field study ever undertaken of any group of animals in the wild and in 1977 she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which works to protect the species and supports youth projects aimed at benefiting animals and the environment.<\/p>\n

\"JaneJane Goodall in Chicago in 1982 (Charles Knoblock\/AP) (CHARLES KNOBLOCK\/AP) <\/p>\n

Dame Jane was made a dame by the then-Prince of Wales, now the King, in 2004 at Buckingham Palace, when she praised Charles for his stand on GM foods.<\/p>\n

The primatologist said, however, that her most prized distinction was becoming the UN Messenger of Peace in 2002.<\/p>\n

One of her more recent accolades was the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to her in January 2025 by then-US president Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

In tribute to Dame Jane, a post to the official X account of the UN said: \u201cToday, the UN family mourns the loss of Dr Jane Goodall. The scientist, conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace worked tirelessly for our planet and all its inhabitants, leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity and nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DameDame Jane shaking hands with Queen Elizabeth II in 2012 (Leon Neal\/PA) <\/p>\n

Harry interviewed the world-renowned activist for Meghan\u2019s guest editing of Vogue magazine in 2019 when he told her would have only two children for the sake of the planet.<\/p>\n

Dame Jane later revealed, after the Sussexes left the UK amid Megxit, that Harry had felt \u201cconstrained\u201d by his royal life and desperately wanted his son to grow up away from \u201cpomp and royalty\u201d.<\/p>\n

She also divulged in 2014 that Prince William, now the Prince of Wales, told her he would \u201clike to see all the ivory owned by Buckingham Palace destroyed\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Jane Goodall Institute announced her death in a statement on social media, saying: \u201cThe Jane Goodall Institute learned this morning, Wednesday 1 October 2025, that Dr Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, has passed away from natural causes.<\/p>\n

\"DrDr Jane Goodall and chief Raoni Metuktire (left) at the Greenpeace stage during the Glastonbury Festival (Ben Birchall\/PA) <\/p>\n

\u201cShe was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr Goodall\u2019s discoveries as an ethologist transformed science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of the natural world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dame Jane founded her Roots and Shoots global leadership programme to inspire young people to change their communities, environment and local wildlife for the better.<\/p>\n

Established in 1991 with just 12 Tanzanian high school students, the initiative involves young people in more than 60 countries.<\/p>\n

She was due to speak at a sold out event at Royce Hall, a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), on Friday October 3.<\/p>\n

She held events in Detroit, Michigan, and Austin, Texas, in September, and was also due to visit Washington next week.<\/p>\n