Harry and Meghan lead tributes as conservationist Jane Goodall dies aged 91

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have paid tribute to conservationist and chimpanzee expert Dame Jane Goodall following her death at the age of 91, describing her as “a visionary humanitarian, scientist, friend to the planet, and friend to us”.

Dame Jane, who was the world’s leading expert on chimpanzee behaviour and defender of their habitat, was in California on a speaking tour when she died from “natural causes”.

Harry, who forged a close bond with the famed primatologist, recalled in a joint statement with Meghan on Wednesday how Dame Jane held their son Prince Archie as a newborn baby and “showered love and care to those who were privileged to know her”.

Harry and Meghan told how they would deeply miss her, saying: “Dr Jane Goodall DBE was a visionary humanitarian, scientist, friend to the planet, and friend to us.

“Her commitment to changing lives extends beyond what the world saw, and also to what we personally felt.

“She held our son, Archie, when he was first born, and showered love and care to those who were privileged to know her. She will be deeply missed.”

The Sussexes welcomed Dame Jane to their then-home Frogmore Cottage in 2019 where she cuddled their baby son Archie, then just five weeks old.

The duke went on to take part in a meeting of her Roots and Shoots youth empowerment project at Windsor Castle, and the two kept in touch over the years.

The conservationist recalled how they had “clicked” during their first encounter at Kensington Palace in December 2018.

Greenpeace, the global campaigning organisation dedicated to the environment, remembered Dame Jane as a “tireless advocate” who inspired “millions”.

The British primatologist took to the Greenpeace stage at Glastonbury Festival last year and spoke about the planet, loss of biodiversity and climate change in a speech where she also acknowledged that “young people are still losing hope”.

Greenpeace’s co-executive director in the UK, Will McCallum, said in a statement to the PA news agency: “We’re heartbroken to learn that Dr Jane Goodall has passed away. She was one of the true conservation giants of our time.”

He said her “pioneering research” transformed our understanding of chimpanzees and their habitat and was a “tireless advocate” for the protection of wildlife and forests, inspiring millions to act.

“Dr Goodall’s legacy is not only in science but in the global movement she helped spark to protect nature and give hope for a better world,” he added.

“It’s now incumbent upon all of us to honour her legacy by continuing the fight to protect the world’s forests.”

Naturalist and TV presenter Chris Packham said Dame Jane was “remarkable” and hailed her work as “revolutionary”.

He told BBC News: “To have lost a hero at a time when we need all of them on the front line fighting for the future of life on Earth, it is a tragedy.”

Former prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, former US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and jailed Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes were among the other public figures who hailed her lifetime of work.

Maria Shriver, the former first lady of California, called her “a legendary figure and a friend”.

She said in a post to X: “She stayed at her mission and on her mission. She changed the world and the lives of everyone she impacted. The world lost one of its best today, and I lost someone I adored.”

Born in London in 1934, Dame Jane began researching free-living chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960.

She arrived at Gombe Stream National Park on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in July of that year, a time when it was unheard of for a woman to venture into the wilds of Africa.

It was there she observed a chimpanzee named David Greybeard make a tool from twigs and use it to fish termites from a nest, a ground-breaking observation that challenged the definition of humans as the single species capable of making tools.

Her research on chimpanzees was the longest field study ever undertaken of any group of animals in the wild and in 1977 she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which works to protect the species and supports youth projects aimed at benefiting animals and the environment.

Dame Jane was made a dame by the then-Prince of Wales, now the King, in 2004 at Buckingham Palace, when she praised Charles for his stand on GM foods.

The primatologist said, however, that her most prized distinction was becoming the UN Messenger of Peace in 2002.

One of her more recent accolades was the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to her in January 2025 by then-US president Joe Biden.

In tribute to Dame Jane, a post to the official X account of the UN said: “Today, the UN family mourns the loss of Dr Jane Goodall. The scientist, conservationist and UN Messenger of Peace worked tirelessly for our planet and all its inhabitants, leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity and nature.”

Harry interviewed the world-renowned activist for Meghan’s guest editing of Vogue magazine in 2019 when he told her would have only two children for the sake of the planet.

Dame Jane later revealed, after the Sussexes left the UK amid Megxit, that Harry had felt “constrained” by his royal life and desperately wanted his son to grow up away from “pomp and royalty”.

She also divulged in 2014 that Prince William, now the Prince of Wales, told her he would “like to see all the ivory owned by Buckingham Palace destroyed”.

The Jane Goodall Institute announced her death in a statement on social media, saying: “The Jane Goodall Institute learned this morning, Wednesday 1 October 2025, that Dr Jane Goodall DBE, UN Messenger of Peace and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, has passed away from natural causes.

“She was in California as part of her speaking tour in the United States.

“Dr Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist transformed science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of the natural world.”

Dame Jane founded her Roots and Shoots global leadership programme to inspire young people to change their communities, environment and local wildlife for the better.

Established in 1991 with just 12 Tanzanian high school students, the initiative involves young people in more than 60 countries.

She was due to speak at a sold out event at Royce Hall, a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), on Friday October 3.

She held events in Detroit, Michigan, and Austin, Texas, in September, and was also due to visit Washington next week.