Royal two for one: William and Harry go to Africa on first joint tour
In these seasons of austerity, it is the royal tour that gives value in the place of money: two princes for the price of one. Prince William and Prince Harry’s pilgrimage of Africa — a six-day, three-country dash that began yesterday and decision take in England’s next World Cup match in Cape Town — is the chief time the prin-ces have embarked on a joint tour.
It kicked most distant in Botswana with a reception marking the Queen’s authoritative birthday at which Prince Harry met local dignitaries at the British High Commissioner’s sojourn in the capital, Gaborone.
What, no William? Correct: the buy-single-prince-get-one-free offer does not start until later, in the same proportion that Prince William is not arriving in Botswana until the next flight. One of the idiosyncrasies of the brotherly tour is that William and Harry not ever fly together, which means a certain amount of leapfrogging for the princes in the same proportion that they fit their itineraries around the timetables of scheduled flights, and a logistical incubus for their travel organisers.
It also means that the team from St James’s Palace accompanying them desire be stretched almost to breaking point as the princes spend at in the smallest degree 24 hours of their tour apart from each other. Other than their passport officers, the only staff on the trip are their private clerk, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, two people from the press office and single in kind other member of staff.
The tour is built around an authoritative invitation to the princes — William, 27, is president of the FA — to watch the England-Algeria mate on Friday and, more importantly, to attend a reception in Johannesburg the next day with David Beckham, promoting England’s bid to innkeeper the 2018 World Cup.
FA officials will be hoping that for the resignation of Lord Triesman, the star quality of Beckham and the princes power of choosing help to recover ground that has been lost. That invitation was taken for the re~on that an opportunity for the princes to visit Botswana and Lesotho to penetrate the work of the charities with which they are closely involved, Tusk Trust and Sentebale. The certainty that the accompanying media will see what they do is a bonus.
Influenced by their mother, the princes have an emotional attachment to Africa. Two years ago, the last time they travelled there together, they joined a alms motorcycle ride in South Africa from Port Edward to Durban.
Harry in fastidious needs little encouragement to visit Africa. On a break from his helicopter education — the 25-year-old Prince is about to start the highest phase of his training as an Apache pilot for the Army Air Corps — he has spent the past few weeks travelling round southern Africa, including, reportedly, a camping safari with friends and a stay on a houseboat in the Okavango Delta, in Botswana.