London: Prince Harry, trying to shed his image as Britain`s fun-loving royal, is planning an official visit to the United States in May though he won`t tour `sin city` Las Vegas this time.
The 28-year-old grandson of Queen Elizabeth II has not included Las Vegas on his itinerary this time after nude pictures of him from a private visit to the country last year made the wrong kind of headlines across the globe.
"Prince Harry is to tour the US to promote the rehabilitation of injured American and UK troops, publicise his own charities and support British interests," St James`s Palace said here today.
The third-in-line to the British throne will visit several American locations between May 9 and 15, covering Washington DC, Denver, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
He will watch the opening ceremony of the Warrior Games, in Colorado Springs, where injured servicemen and women will compete.
Britain is entering a team for the first time in the games a Paralympic-style competition and the prince is known to be a supporter of the competition, after he met UK troops who took part as individuals last year.
He will also meet survivors of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and plans to stage a fundraising Sentebale Polo Cup match in Connecticut, in aid of his African-based charity which supports orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho.
"Prince Harry wants to highlight once again the extraordinary commitment and sacrifice of our injured servicemen and women our wounded warriors," Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the prince`s private secretary, said.
"Although a prince, Harry is also an operational soldier indeed he`s a soldier`s soldier therefore throughout this briefing the recurring theme is to help recognise and bring a spotlight on to the work being done to help these outstanding young men and women," Lowther-Pinkerton said.
On his last visit to the country in August 2012, Harry had been embarrassed after naked photographs of him with a woman in a Vegas hotel room emerged after a game of strip billiards.
"I probably let myself down... I let my family down, I let other people down," he had said in reference to the incident.
However, the fun-loving royal is unlikely to be entirely devoid of partying during his upcoming visit to the US and is set to meet some Hollywood celebrities at a reception hosted by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The younger of Prince Charles` and the late Princess Diana`s sons has often courted the wrong kind of media attention, including being caught in a Nazi uniform at a fancy dress event back in 2005 and brawling with paparazzi.
PTI
