Prince coming to Belize

Prince Harry

They say if you kiss a frog, it may turn into a prince. Belize has plenty frogs but so far none has elevated to a royal status. But in a few weeks, a bonafide member of the royal family will be in the Jewel. The second child of Prince Charles and Lady Diana is coming to Belmopan. Plans are in full gear for the anticipated visit of Prince Harry, who is scheduled to arrive in Belize on March second and departing on the third. While he is spending a mere twenty-three hours in the jewel, his schedule is jam-packed with a host of cultural events. Prince Harry’s visit comes as a part of The Royal Family’s celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee. Chief of Protocol, Diana Locke says that the visit is not at the state level, but is geared towards introducing the Prince to a true Belizean experience.

Diana Locke, Chief of Protocol, Prince Harry’s Visit

“The visit for Prince Harry, he is coming to Belize to represent his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Second, which is our Head of State. Basically, it’s not the typical state visit that we do; this one has much more informality. It’s going to generally be a quick more of interaction with the Belizean public instead of interaction with high level government officials. On arrival, he will be given the royal salute and from then there there’s a very brief meeting with the Prime Minister and he will be introduced to a few officials at the airport. Then from there, we head straight off to Belmopan where he makes his official call on the Governor General. Once that is complete, we then move into the very big public event, which is what we want to highlight, which is the street fest, where the street is going to be named after Her Majesty, The Queen. That event is going to begins on Friday the second of March from four p.m., so people are encouraged to come out and enjoy all the cultural entertainment and there will be food for sale from some of the Belizean cultures, and that continues until ten o’clock the night.”

Andrea Polanco

Diana Locke

“So, I know also in Belmopan on that day, that is where he will be making his only speech, his statement to the public?”

Diana Locke

“That is correct; he will be saying a few words. I understand he will be delivering a message from The Queen and he will be saying a few words of his own, which will actually be a very short speech.”

Andrea Polanco

“Awrite, and on Saturday, of course he will be in the Western part of Belize?”

Diana Locke

“Yes, he will be travelling to the OAS Adjacency Zone in the morning dealing with the children both from Belize and Guatemala, who participated in the OAS cultural program; he then leaves and goes to Xunantunich, which is going to be the bigger portion of the day where he will be interacting with children and doing some of our tourism experiences; that I think should be the most captivating part of the trip for him.”

Andrea Polanco

“And of course, this visit is expected to be different from the other two tours that he is taking, which includes the Bahamas and Jamaica; we are hoping to immerse him in the whole Belizean culture and to experience Belize differently?”

Diana Locke

“From what I have seen so far, yes, Belize is going to be the most exciting part of the trip, the other parts are going to be more official things, but I think this offers more of an interactive approach to the whole visit; like I said in the beginning, it’s a different kind of visit.”

While local media will cover the Prince’s visit, it is expected that a number of foreign media will also converge in Belize, and so far thirteen have confirmed to be in Belize for the royal visit. From Belize, the Prince will fly to Bahamas on March third, to Jamaica on the fifth and to Brazil on the ninth.