Prince Harry in New York – Day 1

Prince Harry is in New York City for the next 36 hours. He arrived in the Big Apple earlier today.

The third in line to the British throne is here to raise money for his charity, Sentebale, and pay his respects to those who died in the 9/11 terror attacks.

The latter was the first event on Harry’s agenda for Friday. He stopped by Ground Zero, and met with New York Governor David Patterson and a few relatives of those who were killed that day. Harry then laid wreath on the fence that surrounds the deep hole where the World Trade Center once stood. The Prince then took a step back, and bowed his head for a moment of silence.

He left a handwritten note tacked to the wreath, citing an “admiration of the courage shown by the people.”

Later on, Prince Harry moved to Hanover Square, to the renamed British Garden, to plant a magnolia bush in memory of the 67 Britons who died on 9/11.

Next, Harry would go to the Veteran’s Medical Center to tour its prosthetics lab and meet some veterans. Prince Harry himself is a veteran in a sense. He fought for 10 weeks in Afghanistan in early 2008.

Tomorrow, the Prince will go to Harlem with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to check out community building programs. After that, he is going to take part in one of his favorite activities – playing polo on Governor’s Island.

The event which is attracting many celebrities and VIPs, will raise money for Harry’s Sentebale charity which helps children in the Lesotho, a small kingdom in southern Africa.

This visit to New York is part of a PR project to fix the Prince’s wild boy image. Despite his charity works and service in Afghanistan, Harry is best known for alcohol fueled parties and racially insensitive incidents over the years.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged 9/11, Health, Hospital, Military, Official Visit, Prince Harry of Wales, Terrorism, United States of America, Veterans.