Britain’s Prince Harry, the second son of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, will arrive Friday in New York, the site of his first official trip overseas, British officials announced.
During his two-day visit, Harry plans to meet with family members of September 11 victims, lay a wreath at ground zero and meet with veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars, royal palace officials said. Harry, 24, served for two months in Afghanistan as a coalition forces soldier in 2007. Also on Harry’s agenda is a formal naming ceremony of Lower Manhattan’s Hanover Square to honor the 67 British victims of the 9/11 attacks, officials said. Harry’s trip also will take him uptown to the Harlem Children’s Zone, where he and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho hope to learn how the nonprofit has succeeded in supporting low-income children, officials said. Following Princess Diana’s example, Harry will use this trip to promote his charity for children, Sentebale. Co-founded with Lesotho’s prince, the charity supports children in the sub-Saharan country who lost parents to AIDS. Harry’s time in New York could reflect a change in a public image that has been marred by several incidents, including a one-day stint in drug rehab in 2002 and accusations of racism in 2009. The third in line for the British crown, Harry is racking up military accomplishments. Active in the British army, he received a promotion to lieutenant in April 2008 and is training for an army air corps pilot position, according to the prince’s Web site.
