Prince Harry congratulates Diana award winners 0:45
(CNN) -
Prince Harry has told Diana Prize recipients that their mother would have been proud of them, in a surprising message of congratulations to those who have worked on issues related to the pandemic.
"Thank you for inspiring us with your brilliance, your determination and your compassion," he said in a video message, shared on the charity's Instagram page on Monday.
"There is a great need for young leadership, and there is no better time to be a young leader," he said.
Prince Harry added: 'The [Covid-19] crisis revealed serious inequalities and imbalances around the world.
We have seen the disproportionate effect of this pandemic in communities of color, in women, in underserved communities and in less wealthy countries.
In his short speech he mentioned his brother, Prince William.
Prince William criticizes the BBC after a report found deceptive methods used to secure the interview with Diana
"My brother and I are acknowledging what would have been our mother's 60th birthday and she would have been very proud of all of you, for living her authentic life with purpose and compassion for others."
“Our mother believed that young people have the power to change the world.
She believed in her strength because she saw her every day.
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The Diana Prize is the only charity created in memory of the Princess of Wales that focuses on youth and change.
Diana died after a car accident in Paris in 1997.
Harry and William will meet this Thursday to inaugurate a memorial to their late mother.
Princess Diana would turn 60.
These are some facts of his life
The brothers commissioned the statue from British sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley - whose portrait of the queen appears on all British coins - to "enable all who visit Kensington Palace to remember and celebrate her life and legacy."
You will be given a privileged position in the sunken garden of the palace, which Diana enjoyed when she lived there.
Earlier this month, Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, welcomed their second daughter, Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, whose family nickname is Lilibet, while her middle name, Diana, was chosen in honor of her late grandmother, the couple said in a statement.
Lili is the sister of the couple's son, Archie Harrison, 2.
Diana of Wales Prince Harry