Prince Harry's Royal Good Time: Booze, Miss Bahamas Make for Successful Diamond Jubilee Trip

Prince William's little bro kicks off the young royals' queen-honoring globe-trotting tours, touching down in Belize and the Bahamas

By Gina Serpe Mar 05, 2012 4:18 PMTags
Prince HarrySuzanne Plunkett-Pool/Getty Images

Island-hopping clearly agrees with Prince Harry.

Prince William's little brother had the honor of being the first of the three young meal tickets royals to be dispatched around the globe in honor of the queen's Diamond Jubilee, touching down in Belize on Friday before launching the second leg of his whirlwind trip in the Bahamas over the weekend.

So, what'd he get up to? Other than showing off his 24/7 dapperness, that is?

You better, er, Belize he had a good time.

His first solo tour began with a festive night out in Belmopan, Belize, Friday, where he danced up a storm with locals, took part in the capital city's street party and even tested out several flavors of locally brewed rum and beer.

A prince's work is never done.

All told, Harry spent just two days in the country before hopping on a plane and heading to the Bahamas where the good times seemed to just keep rolling.

Straight out of the gate, the dashing young royal made quite a stir when he arrived on the island, appearing in public for the first time ever in his crisp white ceremonial uniform, aka the No. 1 Tropical Dress of the Blues and Royals. Oh, swoon. Looks like Kate Middleton's not the only fashionista in the family.

His uniform was punctuated with the public reveal of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee medal, something he got special permission to wear as it's the first time the design has been seen in public. After meeting with local officials and, yes, Miss Bahamas, he delivered a speech on behalf of his grandma.

"I stand before you with a deep sense of pride at being asked to convey to you a message of good wishes from the queen on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee," he said. "The Bahamas holds a special place in Her Majesty's heart. Her love for this realm and you, the Bahamian people, stretches back over the decades, right to that first visit in 1966.

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"I am greatly looking forward to the next 24 hours and the chance to explore and meet more of the people of these stunning islands. I hope, for me, that this is the first of many visits. I'll certainly be showing off about it to my brother and sister-in-law when I return home."

Afterward, it was more formalities with Harry stopping by Nassau's Government House and meeting with the prime minister, governal general of the Bahamas and members of the cabinet before attending a church service on Sunday morning.

But his job's not over yet: later today, Harry is island-hopping once again, and is due to touch down in Jamaica before embarking on the final leg of his tour, to Brazil, on Friday.

And while you're marking your calendars, here's another date to note: on March 19, Kate will be delivering her first-ever public speech at the opening of The Treehouse, a hospice run by one of the charities she's patron of, the East Anglia Children's Hospices.