Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Pay Tribute to Jane Goodall After Her Death at 91

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have paid tribute to Jane Goodall.

The renowned conservationist and animal welfare advocate died in Los Angeles of natural causes while on a speaking tour, the Jane Goodall Institute announced on Wednesday, Oct. 1. She was 91.

“Dr. Jane Goodall DBE was a visionary humanitarian, scientist, friend to the planet, and friend to us,” Prince Harry, 41, and Meghan, 44, said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

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

In addition to forging a bond with Harry and Meghan, Goodall was made a Dame in 2004 by Harry’s father, then-Prince of Wales, now King Charles.

Harry and Goodall met in December 2018 when he invited her to Kensington Palace to discuss their shared concern for the environment.

In June 2019, Goodall stopped by the couple’s then-home of Frogmore Cottage in Windsor to chat with Harry ahead of the Global Leadership Meeting for the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots youth program at Windsor Castle that month.

Goodall told the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine that during the visit, “Meghan [Markle] came in to listen with Archie,” adding that she couldn’t resist the chance to hold the baby boy. Prince Archie was born on May 6, 2019.

“He was very tiny and very sleepy,” she told the outlet. “Not too pleased to be passed from his mummy.”

The following month at the Roots & Shoots meeting, Harry famously invited Goodall for an impromptu dance —and reenacted the sweet “Chimpanzee Greeting” she taught him when they first met.

Goodall was known as the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees after spending decades studying them in the wild in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park. 

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“Dr. Goodall’s discoveries as an ethologist revolutionized science, and she was a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world,” the Jane Goodall Institute said in a statement Wednesday.

“[Her] life and work not only made an indelible mark on our understanding of chimpanzees and other species, but also of humankind and the environments we all share,” the tribute read. “She inspired curiosity, hope and compassion in countless people around the world, and paved the way for many others.”

Her trailblazing research changed how the public viewed its connection to the animal kingdom, particularly through her studies on the personalities and social interactions of the chimpanzees she closely observed. Throughout her storied career, she achieved a rare kind of celebrity for her profession, thanks in part to her tireless public events.

Several stars and politicians are mourning the loss of legendary conservationist, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas, Al Roker, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Maria Shriver, Justin Trudeau and Hilary Clinton.