Prince Harry Shares How Fatherhood Connects Him to a Cherished Charity in First London Event Out of Isolation msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Shutterstock
‘My first memory of elephants is my dad sitting me down and telling me that he had bought me a pet,’ shares Ayesha Shand, the 26-year-old daughter of the late philanthropist Mark Shand, her eyes lighting up as she remembers her father. ‘I was really excited - thinking maybe it was a dog,’ she pauses for dramatic effect, laughing. ‘And he said, “no, actually, I’ve got you an elephant”. I went to school and told everyone and no one believed me - my teacher even told me off for telling a lie!’
If you knew Ayesha’s father, the gift wouldn’t be such a punchline. The brother of HRH the Duchess of Cornwall, Shand shared a strong affinity with elephants. The love ran so deep, he spent his life dedicated to conserving them in Asia, setting up his own charity, The Elephant Family, with co-founder, Ruth Ganesh in 2002. As Her Royal Highness recalls, In 1988, on a visit to India, something happened that was to change my brother’s life. Mark arrived in