Harry ready for charity polo match

Mar 11 2012

Prince Harry is to take part in a fundraising charity polo match in Brazil in aid of his Africa based charity Sentebale.

The royal will ride out on a private polo field in aid of his organisation which he co-founded in 2006.

This will be the third Sentebale Polo Cup and it is designed to raise money and awareness for Sentebale's activities helping orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho.

Prince Harry will play for the Sentebale team at Campinas and will deliver a speech at a post-match lunch bringing to an end his tour of Brazil.

His private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton has highlighted how the royal will spend some time in Brazil after his official tour ends. He said: "The Prince will then spend a couple of days in the interior of the country, where he will use the time privately to further his knowledge of and interest in conservation and the natural world, which is one of the three pillars of the Foundation (of Prince William and Prince Harry)."

On Saturday, the Prince was praised for his engaging personality "worth a thousand politicians" as he showed his mischievous side and ran a charity race wearing a Duke of Cambridge facemask.

A British-themed sports day on a sweltering Rio de Janeiro beachfront brought out the best in Harry, 27, who ran a Sport Relief Mile, played touch-rugby and tried his hand at volleyball.

The prince was promoting the UK as part of the Great campaign - a global initiative to attract visitors, business and students to the UK on the back of the Diamond Jubilee and London 2012.

A dramatic gun battle between Brazilian forces and suspected drug dealers in a Rio favela - Vila Cruzeiro - did not stop the royal visiting a neighbouring deprived district. Harry's tour of Complexo do Alemao was not affected by the violence around a mile away which also saw homemade bombs thrown at soldiers who responded with stun grenades.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who earlier joined Harry for the launch of the Great initiative in Brazil, at Rio's Sugarloaf mountain, praised the impact the prince had made in the South American country. Speaking close to the scene of the prince's sporting endeavours on Rio's Flamengo beach, he said: "Well, Prince Harry is worth a thousand politicians. As you can see he has extraordinary celebrity pulling power. But also the way he's approached things here in Brazil, sums up what we're most proud about with the Royal Family.