On his way to Sydney, Prince Harry made a two-day stop in Singapore. He arrived on Sunday morning, where he participated in a moment’s silence to honour the victims of Saturday’s terrorist attack on London Bridge.
Upon his arrival, the Prince was given a traditional welcome by ten hand-drummers. Prince Harry first visited a community centre of a faith-led welfare group called Jamiyah Singapore. The group provides assistance to people living in poverty.
A traditional Malay welcome for #PrinceHarry before he took part in #iftar with young Muslims https://t.co/zZhYhuJfbt pic.twitter.com/ZXqZX9Xyan
— Channel NewsAsia (@ChannelNewsAsia) June 4, 2017
Jamiyah’s Silat coach, former world champion Sheik Alauddin Yacoob Marican, walked Harry around teams demonstrating various moves from the Southeast Asia martial art.
As the sun started to set, Prince Harry joined around 80 young people for a traditional iftar, when the fast of Ramadan is broken. The Secretary General of Jamiyah Singapore, Ustaz Muhammad Rafiuddin Ismail, welcomed the Prince before sharing his condolences to the victims of the London terror attack: “Our thoughts go out to the families of the victims of the London terror attack last night. Let peace and harmony prevail in communities all over the world.”
Prince Harry breaks the fast of Ramadan in Singapore before playing polo for his charity, Sentebale (Kensington Royal)
After the fast was broken, Harry sat at a number of tables, chatting to guests about the celebration. The President of Jamiyah Singapore said: “We are honoured that Prince Harry was able to join us for this iftar and to meet with the young people that are part of the Jamiyah Singapore community.”
Prince Harry also attended a reception at the British High Commission as a mark of respect to the London attack victims and undertook visits to local clinics that focus on HIV and mental health. One visit was to a rapid test unit, which involves a blood test in the back of a clinically-equipped van.
The Rapid HIV test is a quick and painless process – demo by @afa_singapore volunteers #UKRoyalSG pic.twitter.com/KlyBXH1QF3
— UK in Singapore ?? (@UKinSingapore) June 4, 2017
Monday saw Prince Harry take part in a charity Polo match at the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup. The annual event aims to raise money for Sentebale, a charity that he set up alongside Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006, with a target of £1 million. The group provides support for children living with HIV in southern Africa.
Before the match began, the national anthems of the UK and Singapore were played, before players and spectators participated in a minute’s silence out of respect for those who died in the terrorist attack in London on Saturday.
In the official programme of the event, Harry stated his continued support the commitment to ending the worldwide Aids epidemic by 2030.
“It is our ambition to change the tide of this epidemic by ensuring more young people know their status, access treatment and are empowered to tackle stigma and play their part in bringing the Aids epidemic to an end”, the programme read.
The match is being staged at the exclusive Singapore Polo Club, founded by British officers in 1886. Both William and Harry have taken part in charity polo games since 2007, raising over £10 million for notable causes with which they are affiliated.
Harry’s team won the match, 5-2, against the St.Regis team. Actress Karen Gillan presented the award.
Prince Harry’s team won the polo match in Singapore, raising money for Sentebale too (Kensington Royal)
The Prince will now fly to Sydney, Australia to launch the fourth Invictus Games at Admiralty House on Wednesday morning. Harry will then board a boat to watch a sailing race on the harbour. The fourth Invictus Games will see wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women from 17 nations take part in a wide range of sporting events in October next year; the Toronto games are due to take place in September.
The Chief executive of the 2018 Invictus Games, Patrick Kidd, said that Prince Harry will be more than welcome to join in with the athletes: “There’s an open invitation for him to do whatever he likes,” Mr Kidd told the Australian Associated Press.
He went on to say, “We’ll even have a sport for him if he’s been injured. All bases are covered.”
In Sydney, Harry will meet the athletes for morning tea, before joining the Premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Veterans Affairs, David Elliott for a walk around Campbell’s Cove, where members of the public will be given a chance to meet the Prince.
