When Harry met Miss Bahamas: Couple get acquainted a day after beauty queen declared she would marry the prince
Yesterday she said she would marry Prince Harry and today Miss Bahamas came face to face with the dashing royal during a reception in Nassau.Anastagia Pierre, 23, yesterday declared she was in town to fall in love with the 27-year-old prince and was obviously enamoured with Harry keeping a fixed gaze on him during their meeting.
The two met at a reception for youth leaders, held at the Sheraton Hotel, as part of his Diamond Jubilee ten-day tour.
The look of love? Prince Harry talks with Miss Bahamas 2011 Anastagia Pierre during a reception for youth leaders, held at the Sheraton Hote in Nassau, Bahamas
Anastagia was declared Miss Bahamas Universe in the same competition as Miss Joyce, in April 2011.
Sasha wore a purple number, while Harry was dressed in a dark blue two-piece with a white shirt.
Yesterday Anastagia declared: 'I came here to fall in love with Prince Harry....he's hot! He is single now, so would I marry him, yes!'
Three's a crowd? Anastagia (in the red) said yesterday that she would love to marry the young prince
Beauty queen: Miss Bahamas, Anastagia Pierre says she would marry the single prince
'There is great respect here for the Royal Family and we are hugely excited that Prince Harry has come here to see us. It is all over the television.'
Prince Harry arrived in the Bahamas yesterday to represent his grandmother for the first time - and left with a new legion of female followers.
He was greeted by cheers and screams as he conducted his first engagement wearing the No. 1 Tropical Dress of The Blues and Royals, the first time that he has worn the uniform in public.
Although he is attached to the Army Air Corps, with whom he recently qualified as an Apache helicopter pilot, the prince is still officially a member of the Household Cavalry regiment.
Royal appointment: Prince Harry meets Bahamas Governor General Arthur Folkes at Government House in Nassau, Bahamas
Guest of honour: Prince Harry leaves Christ Church Cathedral after Sunday service
Harry was also wearing gold epaulettes and three medals: (from left to right) his Afghanistan campaign medal, the Queen's Golden Jubilee medal and her Diamond Jubilee medal, which he was given special permission by his grandmother to wear as they have not been seen in public before.
Blessing: Prince Harry arrives at Christ Church Cathedral as part of his Diamond Jubilee tour of the Caribbean
The uniform also featured the Army Air Corps wings above his medals and on his arm an eagle patch which represents the standard that was taken from the French at the battle of Waterloo by the Royal Dragoons, the predecessors to the Blues and Royals.
Medal behaviour: (from left to right) his Afghanistan campaign medal, the Queen's Golden Jubilee medal and her Diamond Jubilee medal
He said: 'I stand before you with a deep sense of pride at being asked to convey to you a message of good wishes from The Queen on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee.
'The Bahamas holds a special place in Her Majesty’s heart. Her love for this realm and you, the Bahamian people, stretches back over the decades, right to that first visit in 1966.'
He concluded: 'I am greatly looking forward to the next 24 hours and the chance to explore and meet more of the people of these stunning islands. I hope, for me, that this is the first of many visits.
'I’ll certainly be showing off about it to my brother and sister-in-law when I return home.
'If I may, I would like to conclude by quoting back at you your own motto, which so encapsulates The Queen’s extraordinary life-long commitment to service and community: ‘Forward, Upward, Onward, Together.’
As he left Harry conducted a brief walkabout shaking hands and high fiving wellwishers.
Scout and about: The prince meets a local scout group
Prince charming: Harry impressed in his No. 1 Tropical Dress of The Blues and Royals
His trip began in Belize last Friday and moves onto Jamaica later this week.
Harry will then travel onto Brazil to help launch a government trade mission in Rio, intriguingly taking on some of the responsibilities that would normally have fallen to his uncle, Prince Andrew, who was forced to formally give up his globe-trotting UK industry role last year after a slew of gaffes.
Gusto: Harry threw himself into his visit in typical style
On tour: The Prince arrives at Christ Church Cathedral in Nassau
While in Belize he sipped rum punch and danced in the streets with dignitaries, including the Queen’s Governor-General, earning himself a legion of local fans.
Yesterday, however, Harry showed his more formal side as he officially called at Government House in the capital, Nassau, to pay his respects on behalf of his grandmother to the Governor General of the Bahamas, the Prime Minister and other members of the cabinet.
Shell shocked: Britain's Prince Harry receives a gift from Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Hubert Ingraham at Government House
Nice to meet you, guv: Britain's Prince Harry speaks to Sir Arthur Foulkes, governor general of the commonwealth of the Bahamas
At the distinctive pink-painted house, where his late great-great uncle the Duke of Windsor lived during the Second World War when he was Governor General of the region, Harry chatted easily about his family.
Asked about his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, who was pictured by the Mail last week carriage driving just eight weeks after heart surgery, the prince revealed he had astonished them all with his recovery and had made clear he had no intention of slowing down.
'Now that he has got a new spurt of life he is carrying on doing all he can,' he said.
He also exchanged gifts, giving inscribed photographs of himself to mark the occasion and receiving for the Queen a painting of a fish and for himself a raised ceramic of a turtle.
Asked about his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, who was pictured by the Mail last week carriage driving just eight weeks after heart surgery, the prince revealed he had astonished them all with his recovery and had made clear he had no intention of slowing down.
'Now that he has got a new spurt of life he is carrying on doing all he can,' he said.
He also exchanged gifts, giving inscribed photographs of himself to mark the occasion and receiving for the Queen a painting of a fish and for himself a raised ceramic of a turtle.
What a picture! Harry is presented with another gift
All white: Prince Harry walks with his private Secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton after attending a service of morning prayer at Christ Church Cathedral
Island's favourite: Prince Harry talks to people after attending a service of morning prayer at Christ Church Cathedral
Afterwards he attended a service of morning prayer at Christ Church Cathedral in the city centre, which included a thanksgiving for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee.
The congregation included leading members of the local community.
The congregation included leading members of the local community.
For queen and country: Prince Harry opens a Diamond jubilee exhibition in Nassau
It's me! Harry holds an image of himself at the Diamond Jubilee opening
The prince also delivered the first speech of his whistle-stop tour of the region at an exhibition to chronicle the life of the Queen and her long links to the islands.
Hello there! Prince Harry greets Janice Knowles at a reception in Rawson Square on the third day of his 10 day tour to Belize, Bahamas, Jamaica, and Brazil
Laucnh time: The prince attends a reception in Rawson Square
He also planned to meet up with aristocrat India Hicks, who was his late mother's bridesmaid and now lives in the Bahamas.
Later on Prince Harry appeared very much at home as he boarded a golf buggy for a mad-cap ride around the tiny Bahamian retreat of Harbour Island yesterday.
Going for a ride: Prince Harry climbs on board a specially decorated golf buggy as he goes on a tour of Harbour Island
Kidding around: The prince with some local schoolchildren
He was visiting the picturesque mile-long island as part of his whistle-stop tour of the region to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.He arrived on a Royal Bahamian Defence Force 'go fast' boat after taking part in a maritime security exercise.
Unfortunately the Prince's boat broke down on route but he was still able to arrive on time for his tour.
Jovial: The prince has taken to his royal duties with aplomb throughout the trip
Harbour Island, a retreat for wealthy Americans filled with multi-million pound clapperboard houses and expensive yachts, was packed with locals and tourists alike for the event.
From the moment he set foot on shore the prince was mobbed by well-wishers, particularly pretty girls in bikinis rushing forward to blow kisses and call his name.
After a short walkabout on the quayside he boarded his buggy which had been garlanded with bougainvillea, leading a whacky- races style dash through the winding streets of the harbourside.
He grinned and waved when one local shouted: 'Like what you do man.'
The islanders were clearly delighted to see Harry, but visibly disappointed when it turned out that his convoy would not be stopping for him to talk to locals as planned.From the moment he set foot on shore the prince was mobbed by well-wishers, particularly pretty girls in bikinis rushing forward to blow kisses and call his name.
After a short walkabout on the quayside he boarded his buggy which had been garlanded with bougainvillea, leading a whacky- races style dash through the winding streets of the harbourside.
He grinned and waved when one local shouted: 'Like what you do man.'
Centre of attention: Harry is greeted by royal fans on Harbour Island
'He don’t want to leave,' shouted Kippy Johnson, 30, as the Prince got back on his boat. 'They are rushing him, man.'
He said after the Prince left: 'It’s shocking. He just got on the golf cart for a two minute drive round the block. It’s too short for someone like him coming to Harbour Island for the first time.
'He is cool. He is awesome. But I wish we had him for longer.'
The Bahamas is a commonwealth nation of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets situated in the Atlantic Ocean just north of Cuba and 200 miles south of Florida.
Boating time: Prince Harry heads off to Harbour Island in Nassau, Bahamas
After the American War of Independence, thousands of pro-British loyalists and enslaved Africans moved to the Bahamas and set up a plantation economy.
The slave trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807 and many Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy were settled in the Bahamas during the 19th century. Their descendants form the majority of the Bahamas' population today.
The islands became self-governing in 1964 and fully independent of Britain in 1973, although the Queen still remains a much-loved head of state.
