Prince Harry goes off-the-grid to see his 'other mum' in Botswana

Prince Harry has taken a break from the spotlight, and his phone, by going completely off the grid during a recent solo trip to Africa, where he reportedly reconnected with his “second mum,” Tania ‘Teej’ Jenkins.

While his official itinerary included a deeply emotional return to Angola’s landmine fields, retracing Princess Diana’s iconic 1997 humanitarian mission, it turns out the Duke of Sussex had another, more personal stop in mind.

According to insiders, Harry veered off course from his official duties and quietly crossed into neighbouring Botswana for a secret visit with Teej, a woman he considers a mother figure. 

“This time he made it a longer trip,” a source told the Mail on Sunday. 

“He wanted headspace, away from everything. For a couple of days, no one could reach him. He wasn’t just off-grid, he was off-everything.”

Harry has spoken about Teej before, along with her husband, wildlife filmmaker Mike Holding, in his memoir Spare, describing them as the first people who “cherished whatever wildness was still inside me.”

In a tender passage, Harry recalled the moment he first called Teej “Mom,” an Americanized term he stuck with to distinguish her from the late Princess Diana: “It just flew out of my mouth. Teej looked shocked, but also moved. I was moved as well.”

The Duke’s escape to Botswana marks a return to his spiritual home. It’s where he’s often sought refuge, and where his relationship with Meghan Markle first blossomed in the early days.

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