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| Prince Harry's gone – so what was the point of his US visit again? | Prince Harry's gone – so what was the point of his US visit again? |
| (4 months later) | |
| Now that he's gone, is it OK to ask what on earth was the point of Prince Harry's visit to America? | Now that he's gone, is it OK to ask what on earth was the point of Prince Harry's visit to America? |
| If it was intended to be a prodigal son tour, making us forget the Las Vegas strip billiards episode of last summer – well, every news report worked that story in somewhere, as they will until (and after) he dies. He was here to raise American dollars for various small charities, but why can't he do that at home? Americans raise American dollars. Why can't Brits raise British pounds? And anyway, the US fundraising road can be a slippery one. Just look at Fergie. He was here to tour a part of New Jersey devastated by Hurricane Sandy. To which I repeat – Why? What's it got to do with him? It's not as if he went to Jersey to build a house or – God forbid! – pledge some of the money he'd been raising. He looked at a hole where a house used to be, and then went off the fun fair. Yes, I know, at least it wasn't Atlantic City. He played baseball in Harlem with some inner city kids who don't know or care who he is. In a metaphorical moment he managed to drop the ball. He rode a double decker bus in New York with David Cameron. All that did was remind New Yorkers that Boris Johnson wasn't here. And then he went to play polo in Greenwich, Connecticut, a state where 15% of children live in poverty to raise money for impoverished children in Africa. How Dickensian is THAT? The governor of the state was not invited to the game, but Tommy Lee Jones's wife got to play. Actually, this last part is the most understandable. D-listers tend to stick together. | If it was intended to be a prodigal son tour, making us forget the Las Vegas strip billiards episode of last summer – well, every news report worked that story in somewhere, as they will until (and after) he dies. He was here to raise American dollars for various small charities, but why can't he do that at home? Americans raise American dollars. Why can't Brits raise British pounds? And anyway, the US fundraising road can be a slippery one. Just look at Fergie. He was here to tour a part of New Jersey devastated by Hurricane Sandy. To which I repeat – Why? What's it got to do with him? It's not as if he went to Jersey to build a house or – God forbid! – pledge some of the money he'd been raising. He looked at a hole where a house used to be, and then went off the fun fair. Yes, I know, at least it wasn't Atlantic City. He played baseball in Harlem with some inner city kids who don't know or care who he is. In a metaphorical moment he managed to drop the ball. He rode a double decker bus in New York with David Cameron. All that did was remind New Yorkers that Boris Johnson wasn't here. And then he went to play polo in Greenwich, Connecticut, a state where 15% of children live in poverty to raise money for impoverished children in Africa. How Dickensian is THAT? The governor of the state was not invited to the game, but Tommy Lee Jones's wife got to play. Actually, this last part is the most understandable. D-listers tend to stick together. |
| In a scene that could have been taken from Veep, he arrived in Washington, where a valiant Michelle Obama was waiting to host a Joining Forces Mother's Day Tea to honour military mothers. There, "he joined children in making mementos for their mothers by helping them write messages on their gift bags," said E! The only part of his trip that made any sense was the brief moment in Colorado where he opened the Warrior Games for wounded service members by completing the last leg of a brief torch relay at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Britain had sent a 35-member team of wounded soldiers to take part, people who were thrilled to see Harry for who he is in real life – a former combat helicopter pilot who served in Afghanistan. It was poignant that at this event he wore his military uniform. "He seemed very interested in what stage we are all in in terms of our rehabilitation," said Erica Vey, a veteran of the British Air Force. And he seemed to have a really good time, taking part in a seated volley ball game, whooping it up and chatting with people he can relax with. But this part of the trip was completely overshadowed by the slapstick Downton Abbey content of the rest of it. As for Harry's image post-visit … Isn't he the guy who played strip billiards in Vegas? | In a scene that could have been taken from Veep, he arrived in Washington, where a valiant Michelle Obama was waiting to host a Joining Forces Mother's Day Tea to honour military mothers. There, "he joined children in making mementos for their mothers by helping them write messages on their gift bags," said E! The only part of his trip that made any sense was the brief moment in Colorado where he opened the Warrior Games for wounded service members by completing the last leg of a brief torch relay at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Britain had sent a 35-member team of wounded soldiers to take part, people who were thrilled to see Harry for who he is in real life – a former combat helicopter pilot who served in Afghanistan. It was poignant that at this event he wore his military uniform. "He seemed very interested in what stage we are all in in terms of our rehabilitation," said Erica Vey, a veteran of the British Air Force. And he seemed to have a really good time, taking part in a seated volley ball game, whooping it up and chatting with people he can relax with. But this part of the trip was completely overshadowed by the slapstick Downton Abbey content of the rest of it. As for Harry's image post-visit … Isn't he the guy who played strip billiards in Vegas? |
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