Don't Be Too Hard on Harry

On Sunday, ITV1 broadcasts a tear-jerking story about a young man who has lost his mother and is trying to come to terms with himself in an impoverished, Aids-ridden African country. Yes, Prince Harry has taken time out from polo-playing and partying to spend two months in Lesotho.

It is tempting, Glenda Slagg-like, to write two agitated (but wildly conflicting) columns about his sojourn in a country where one-third of the population of almost 2 million has HIV and the median age is 20. "Tourist taking advantage of Africa's suffering millions to boost his profile" or "Caring 20-year-old eager to help one of the most wretched places in the world"? Take your pick.

The "dontcha just hate him" column is easier to write. He's a spoiled public-school toff who spends most of his time drinking in exclusive clubs with unlikely names like Boujis. He wangled a place at Eton and came bottom of his year (scraping a D in geography). He dates posh blondes with double-barreled names, gets drunk at polo parties and makes rude gestures. His experiments with drugs led his father to send him for rehab. His horsey chums have a penchant for invading the House of Commons. He shoots small, defenseless creatures. Given half a chance, he would probably shoot Tony Banks. He went to Australia last autumn as part of his peripatetic gap year, ostensibly to work on a cattle ranch. So how come he went to all the rugby World Cup matches involving England and led the victory celebrations in a Sydney nightclub? At least Sir Clive's men weren't touring Lesotho while he was there in the spring.

Columnist Carol Sarler did a hearty demolition job on Harry in the Express earlier this year, out slagging Slagg in her description of him as "a horrible young man" and "a national disgrace". "He has never once done anything because it was the right thing to do and has rarely lifted a finger unless it's to feel up a cheap tart in a nightclub," she said.

The Palace were not amused and launched a vigorous defense, the effect of which was to turn a column which had been read by the few dozen people who take the Daily Express seriously into an issue of national significance. Sarler couldn't believe her luck and wrote a column the following week saying that her "cheap tart in a nightclub" bon mot had been translated into several dozen languages. So much for royal PR.

It is easy to be cynical about Harry's stay, with camera crew in tow, in Lesotho. It looks like a desperate rebranding exercise: an attempt to present the young prince as heir to the legacy of his saintly mother. The royal family already has one fun-loving, model-dating, globe-trotting, freebie-consuming prince and they can't afford another - certainly not one in such close proximity to the throne.

But, and this is the other side of the Slagg-ometer, so what? Yes, it's cynical - so cynical that no one will be fooled by what the palace spinmeisters are up to. Yes, the slickly made documentary is manipulative - handsome young prince sniffs tearfully as he cradles a 10-month-old girl who was raped by her mother's boyfriend. Yes, he probably has overdone the partying - just like all the other 20-year-olds with Ds in geography you see heading for city-centre nightclubs every Friday. But at least it made me find out a few facts about Lesotho, and viewers are more likely to send money to the orphanage featured in the programme than decide the prince isn't a hooray Harry after all.

"I am who I am, I'm nobody special, I'm just normal," he says at one point. And that, apart from the accident of birth, the awful upbringing, the bizarre death of his mother and the intrusive press scrutiny, is exactly right. He's a not especially bright lad who loves beer, rugby and beautiful young women. Don't we all.

Harry's guide in Lesotho was Prince Seeiso Seeiso, who is second in line to the throne. He is only seen briefly in the program, but, clad in M&S leisurewear and with what sounds like a north London accent, I warmed to him. His lack of pretension, eagerness to help his benighted people and little round spectacles are all things Harry might usefully emulate. Far better for the image than being photographed quaffing champagne in the China white marquee after a polo match.

I did some research on Prince Seeiso Seeiso and discovered that, after the birth of his first son, he was beaten with sticks by a group of well-wishers. An old Lesotho tradition, apparently. "Some took advantage and were beating me very hard," he told news agency Afrol News. "I have noted who they are and will have them flogged." This was believed to be a royal joke.

Prince Seeiso Seeiso also likened his role to "a bucket of shit" - you have to take everything your people chuck at you. Prince Harry - pursued by paparazzi, vilified by media Slaggs, forced to endure endless drossy comment about his mother - probably agrees. But, contrary to the popular view of him as a lout, he's just too polite to say so.

· The Forgotten Kingdom: Prince Harry in Lesotho will be broadcast at 6.30pm on Sunday on ITV1.