Connecticut and Shore on Itinerary for a Prince

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/nyregion/prince-harry-to-visit-connecticut-and-new-jersey.html

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A charming prince is coming and there are no official plans for him to get naked.

The prince in question is England’s most eligible bachelor, the young and dashing Prince Harry, 28, who is third in line to the British throne. Last summer, while stateside in Las Vegas, photos captured him cavorting in the nude with ladies who may or may not have been in waiting, but at the very least were barely clad.

Now, the prince is returning, this time on official business. Buckingham Palace announced this week that the prince, the youngest son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, would visit the United States for a whirlwind week in mid-May.

Various charities and causes are to be promoted on the trip, most focusing on injured veterans. Plans are afoot for the royal scion to visit storm-ravaged parts of the New Jersey coast and then cap the week off with a charity polo match in Greenwich, Conn.

This being Prince Harry, he of the rosy cheeks, ginger hair and impish royal twinkle, he who is bequeathed with a penchant for hard-partying and lovely blondes, questions inevitably rose over whether there were any extracurricular plans.

For his part, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, who is to tour badly hit coastal regions with the prince, said no.

On a radio show this week, a listener asked if there were “any plans to make sure the prince behaves himself.” Noting that the last time the prince was in the United States he was caught on camera naked, the listener added, “This is not the kind of image we need for the Jersey Shore.”

“All will be fine,” Mr. Christie said in an assuring tone.

“I’m going to be spending the entire day with Prince Harry,” Mr. Christie added, “And so believe me: Nobody’s going to get naked if I’m spending the entire day with him, O.K.? I think I can assure the people of New Jersey that. Much to their relief.”

Patricia Summers, a spokeswoman for the British Consulate General in New York, said she did not have “any knowledge” of whether Prince Harry planned any unofficial outings. “It’s a very busy program,” she said of his schedule.

Judging from the itinerary released by the palace, there will be little spare time. Nearly every day is triple booked with official outings, receptions and dinners.

Prince Harry is to fly into Washington on May 9, then to Colorado for the 2013 Warrior Games, then travel to New Jersey, Manhattan and finally Connecticut, where he will play polo at the Greenwich Polo Club on May 15 before flying home. The polo match will raise money for Sentebale, the charity that Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho founded to care for poor children in Lesotho. Previous Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cups have been held in the United Kingdom and Brazil.

In 2010, Prince Harry also played polo at a match on Governors Island in New York Harbor, where he fell off his pony and prompted Ivanka Trump, then less than a year into her marriage, to swoon on Twitter, “Just met Prince Harry ... sigh.”

News of Prince Harry’s pending visit gladdened the hearts of Greenwich’s Anglophiles.

Natalie Pray, president of the English Speaking Union of Greenwich, celebrates the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II with a garden party every year and last year feted the diamond jubilee with Champagne, strawberries and a display of her husband’s Rolls-Royces. Mrs. Pray said that while Prince Harry would not be visiting her union — “that’s too much to ask” — she was thrilled that he had chosen to visit her town. “I think Greenwich has the most beautiful polo fields around,” she said.