Prince Harry continued his prank filled Diamond Jubilee tour by crossing the line in a charity fun run in Brazil wearing a mask bearing the face of his brother Prince William.
Officially, it was a day to “celebrate the passion Brazil and Britain share for sports” and “to further explore the links between London 2012 and Rio 2016”.
Unofficially, it was a chance for Prince Harry to roll in the sand with short-clad female beach volleyball players and indulge in his passion for rugby, all in the line of royal duty.
On his second day of a three-day tour of Brazil, which Prince Harry is visiting as a trade and Olympics ambassador, the Prince often looked more like a character from Baywatch on Rio’s Flamengo beach in the shadow of Sugarloaf Mountain, than third in line to the throne.
He began the morning with a charity fun run, taking part in a Sport Relief mile with groups of local families and children, together with several Olympic and Paralympic athletes, the supermodel Lily Cole and the chef Marcus Wareing.
The run raised funds for five local charities.
Dressed in black striped tracksuit bottoms, a polo shirt and sunglasses, he showed yet another flash of the cheeky sense of humour that has become the trademark of his first solo overseas tour, donning a paper mask of his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, to complete the run in a leisurely 8 minutes 32 seconds.
The mask was given to him by a fellow runner and drew cheers and laughter from the crowds.
It was the latest in a string of light-hearted moments that have typified the Prince's Diamond Jubilee tour. Earlier in the week he charmed much of Jamaica, including the country's Prime Minister who has expressed strong Republican views.
His antics on a racetrack with 100 metre world record holder Usain Bolt helped to win over his hosts.
The Prince faced a packed schedule during his tour and after the run in Brazil it was time to hit the beach to give some local children some rugby lessons.
Prince Harry, the vice patron of the Rugby Football Union, qualified as a touch rugby coach on his gap year in 2004.
He joined several top coaches from the Aviva Premiership including James Coles and Scott Watson for a rugby coaching session with local children from the Vasco da Gama junior rugby team.
At one point during the session, the Prince scooped up two children under his arms and ran with them along the beach, much to their delight.
Rugby is growing in popularity in Brazil, and will become an Olympic sport for the first time in 2016.
Following the rugby, the beach action continued with the Prince taking part in a volleyball match.
Although Prince William has joked that he is “keen” for tickets to the ladies’ beach volleyball matches for the Olympics, Prince Harry yesterday had a taste of what might be on offer at Horse Guards Parade this summer.
Clad in a shirt in the Brazilian colours of yellow and green, emblazoned with “Harry”, and a baseball cap to shield his face from blistering sun, the Prince got a few tips from the two-time Brazilian Olympic medallist, Adriana Behar and Jackie Silva, an Olympic gold medallist.
Ms Behar said: “We’re showing him how to do spikes and some other techniques, but he looks like he's already got the moves.”
Prince Harry scored several points during the match, laughing and brushing off several times after landing in the sand.
Watching the action on the beach from the sidelines, Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, the Olympics and Sport, who has joined Prince Harry for part of his tour of Brazil, spoke of the Prince’s “electrifying” impact as an international ambassador for the UK.
He said: “Prince Harry has the impact of 1,000 politicians. Watching him during his tour of the Caribbean and in Brazil, he is becoming an extraordinary phenomenon.
"He has not been on top of our list before as an ambassador, but seeing the electrifying effect he’s had here, his real connection with children and sport, shows just how he has taken to the role.
“Once again, it just goes to show what an asset the Royal Family are.”
In the afternoon, Prince Harry visited the Complexo do Alemao favela in the “zona norte” of the city, one of Rio’s poorest districts where he saw first-hand the poverty affecting thousands of Brazilians in urban areas.
The Prince took a cable car to the top of the favela, where, accompanied by young children and members of the local community, he met local graffiti artists, watched a pagoda musical display and visited a mobile health unit. He then opened a newly renovated community centre.
Prince Harry was given a raptuous welcome from a children's choir when he arrived at the top of a poor district of Rio.
Little girls clung to his hands and smiling boys clustered around him after they sang a song to welcome him to a favela called Complexo do Alemao on a hilllside in the gritty north of the city.
They were singing a song about the "need to have fun, and play and they can change the world."
Afterwards they kids from the Coral Liga dos Cantates choir clambered around the prince, 27, as he went down on one knee to chat to the youngsters.
Choir member Eduardo Miranda, 9, said: "I have never seen anyone so white with so many freckles. He was really gorgeous and everyone wants to be a princess."
Others asked him when he was going to come back and visit again.
One girl caught his eye as she held onto his hand and took a snap. The Prince playfully blew a raspberry at her as she did.
Thiciane, aged nine, said: "He is a really nice guy. He asked me if I was having fun and I said yes. This is a really special day in my life."
Rayanne, 11, said: "I first saw Prince Harry at his brother's wedding on the tv. I told him he is very handsome."
At a vaccination clinic set up for the day, he spoke to mothers and babies who were being brought in for polio and hepatitis b jabs.
He asked one little girl the name of her dolly and was told by the women that the clinic had improved their chances to get welfare for themselves and their children.
Prince Harry is due to end his tour of Brazil on Sunday by playing in the Sentebale Polo Cup in the Campinas district of Sao Paulo.
He set up Sentebale, in 2006 with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, in memory of their late mothers.
Sentebale, which means “forget-me-not” in the Sesotho language, supports orphans and vulnerable children in the southern African country. Some of the money raised will also go to Brazilian charities.
The Prince has spoken of the charity’s work as a way of following in his mother’s footsteps and “keeping her legacy alive”.
He will then stay on in Brazil privately for a few days, exploring wetland conservation, one of the key areas of interest of the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry.
By Roya Nikkhah, Royal Correspondent, in Rio de Janeiro
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk