ANTIGUA & BARBUDA TOURISM AUTHORITY

Article taken from The Royal Family - Prince Harry will visit seven countries including the Realms of Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Barbados, as well as Guyana on behalf of the Foreign Office. This will be Prince Harry's second official visit to the Caribbean following his first tour to the region in 2012 when His Royal Highness represented Her Majesty during the Diamond Jubilee.

The tour will begin in Antigua on Sunday, November 20th, 2016. Upon arrival at V.C Bird International Airport on a scheduled commercial flight, Prince Harry will be met by the sights and sounds traditionally associated with the Caribbean, as a local band provides the soundtrack for the Antigua & Barbuda Defence Force military parade, during which his Royal Highness will formally inspect the Guard. That evening, Prince Harry will attend a reception hosted by the Governor General, His Excellency Sir Rodney Williams, featuring cultural performances introducing His Royal Highness to Antiguan life.

This will be the very first event held at the newly renovated Clarence House, a historic building which overlooks the spectacular Nelson's Dockyard and English Harbour. Evenings in this part of Antigua are renowned for their stunning sunsets, as Prince Harry will hopefully see on his first night in the Eastern Caribbean.

His Royal Highness's first morning in Antigua will kick off with a Youth Sports Festival at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Many Caribbean Islands have a fantastic record of producing some of the finest cricket players in the world, and Antigua is no exception. Prince Harry will be hosted by three of Antigua & Barbuda's cricketing legends; Sir Vivian Richards, Sir Curtly Ambrose and Sir Andy Roberts. Together they will tour the grounds meeting local children, and young people showcasing the many national sports played in Antigua & Barbuda. The power of sport to create positive change for young people and communities is a key focus of Prince Harry's official work.

From there, His Royal Highness will attend a Charities Showcase event in the tropical grounds of Government House, in the capital of St. John's. Charities including Nolan Hue and the Halo Foundation, Scouts and Girl Guides, will highlight the crucial work they are carrying out in Antigua & Barbuda. That evening His Royal Highness will visit Barnacle Point to attend a reception hosted by Prime Minister Gaston Brown, at which a number of Antiguan & Barbudan young cultural ambassadors will also be in attendance.

Day three of the tour will see Prince Harry leave the shores of Antigua for a short helicopter ride to its sister island of Barbuda. This island remains untouched in many areas, and with a population of around 1800 residents, its famous pink and white sandy beaches can often seem deserted. The same cannot be said however for the nearby lagoons, where thousands of Frigate birds flock to each year for their annual mating season, making Barbuda one of the world's largest colonies for this species. His Royal Highness will get up close to these impressive birds on a boat tour through the mangroves.

Back on shore, Prince Harry will make the short walk to one of two schools in Barbuda, Holy Trinity Primary School. Here his Royal Highness will join the school children busy preparing celebrations for the school's 93rd anniversary of their Founders Day. His Royal Highness will then travel the short distance up the road to  Sir McChesney George High School, Barbuda's secondary school with an impressive attitude towards conservation and promoting sustainability. Here Prince Harry will see how students manage and utilise the natural resources they have access to in Barbuda as a small island state; whether it be practicing water harvesting, cultivating crops, or poultry farming, and meet the pupils who are empowered and knowledgeable as a result.

That afternoon, back in Antigua, Pince Harry will unveil the first of four dedications towards The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy project at the Victoria Park Botanical Gardens in St. John's. The visit coincides with the city's annual Arbour Day Fair, part of an innovative sustainable programme which encourages the public to return used plant bags in exchange for a tree of their own choice. Prince Harry will meet those behind the scheme, including those growing 90,000 trees to be planted across the island, before unveiling a commemorative plaque to mark the dedication of the park to the QCC, next to an enormous Rubber tree that dominates the gardens.

From Antigua, Prince Harry will depart for the second country of the tour, St. Kitts & Nevis.

Read the full article of Prince Harry 's tour to the rest of the Caribbean.