US leader tries Prince Harry's patience with latest remarks

US President Donald Trump has sparked controversy with his latest remarks about Lesotho, southern African nation.

During his first speech at the US Congress, Trump mentioned the country as he listed cuts made to what he said was wasteful expenditure.

"Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of," Trump said, eliciting laughter from some US lawmakers.

Lesotho's government says it is shocked by US President Donald Trump saying that "nobody has ever heard of" the southern African nation.

A spokesperson for Lesotho's foreign affairs department told the BBC that Lesotho enjoyed "warm and cordial" relations with the US.

It is pertinent to mention here that Britain's Prince Harry, who now lives in the US with his Meghan Markle and two children, jointly co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho charity, Sentebale, to ensure the most vulnerable children in Lesotho get the support they need to lead healthy and productive lives.

Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso of Lesotho is often referred to as a friend of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. 

Prince Harry has worked to draw attention to the urgent issue of children who live in extreme poverty or suffer from HIV/AIDS in Lesotho, and the importance of delivering essential life-skills and psychosocial support to help combat this crucial problem.

Lesotho is a constitutional monarchy with a population of 1.88 million. Under the constitution, the king is head of state but does not actively participate in political activities.

It's not known whether Prince Harry would share his thoughts on Trump's statement about a country which he has tried to help.

Last year, Trump said if Prince Harry lied on his visa application about drug-taking he would seek to take "appropriate action" if he won November's presidential election.

Trump made the comments came in an interview with presenter and frequent Harry critic Nigel Farage.

US visa applicants are required to make a disclosure about any history of drug use, which can impact their application. Lying on an application can result in penalties including deportation.

Harry, who has lived in California since 2020, admitted to past illegal drug use in his memoir "Spare," after which conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation sued the U.S. Homeland Security Department to access his immigration records.