Bettina Wulff, the wife of German President Christian Wulff, presented the 26-year-old Prince Harry with the Golden Heart statuette on Saturday in Berlin on the annual "Ein Herz Fuer Kinder" ("A Heart for Children") charity gala. The event, hosted by TV personality Thomas Gottschalk, is Germany's largest TV charity gala.

"From the bottom of my heart, vielen Dank," said Harry, thanking the fundraising foundation in a mix of English and German. "Compared to so many people who devote their whole lives to restoring hope to children around the world, I have done very little."

Harry, the younger brother of Prince William, is patron to several children's and humanitarian aid charities. He cofounded the organization Sentebale to help young AIDS victims in Lesotho, inspired in part by his mother, the late Princess Diana. He urged viewers to support the organization, saying "Sentebale helps people in Lesotho to help themselves."

During the broadcast, viewers called in to pledge donations to "Ein Herz Fuer Kinder," which redistributes the funds to children's charities around the world. This year, the show raised 15.4 million euros ($20.4 million).

"Ein Herz Fuer Kinder" was set up in 1978 and has since raised more than 153 million euros for various charities.

The prince, on Sunday, laid a wreath at a memorial to those killed trying to escape from communist East Germany. The wreath was accompanied by a message reading, "For all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in pursuit of freedom. Harry."

Meanwhile, the British newspaper the Daily Mail reporting on Prince Harry online, showed little grasp of German history in an unfortunate headline mistake. The paper claimed Harry was laying a wreath for those "who tried to flee Hitler" rather than during the Soviet regime some 15 years later.

Author: Martin Kuebler (AP, dpa)

Editor: Sean Sinico