Turning up early is not really the done thing in the laid-back West Indies, as Prince Harry discovered to his cost.
The Prince arrived in the Commonwealth realm of St Kitts and Nevis after an overnight crossing from Antigua, but docked so early that there was no one there to welcome him.
The island nation’s Governor General, Sir Tapley Seaton – the Queen’s representative in the country – arrived in Port Zante just a few minutes before the planned royal arrival, leaving the Prince admiring the view from the deck of Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Knight for 10 minutes before he could disembark.
Then he went on a walkabout speaking to almost every child that had waited to see him.
British holidaymakers Sue and Dave Knightley from Roydon, Essex, rushed from their cruise ship, which had just docked to greet the prince.
Mrs Knightley, who asked for a selfie but was turned down, said: “We asked him what the rugby score was – and he knew.”
Mr Knightley said: “He’s so good. It was amazing to meet him. We’ve been stalking him around!”
Sylvia Isaac, a pensioner and former public health worker, claimed she had seen the prince on the island when he had visited as a child with his mother and said: “I told him I was following him since he was small and he said, ‘I’m still small’. ‘I’m a big fan of his. He’s like a second child (to me).’
Avid royalist Shefton Crosse told the Prince he met the Queen when he was a child.
“I met your grandmother when I was ‘this high’,” he said. “Say hello to her from me. You British keep the world civilised.”
The Prince spent some time with a group of school children – but became confused by their names, saying instead: “OK, who here has the longest name?” – and started laughing when they all shouted at once. He quickly added: “You all have amazing names.”
Some children told him they had been allowed out of school to meet him – to which he replied: “That’s fantastic”, adding quickly: “I hope your teachers are here too though.”
St Kitts and Nevis is the second of seven countries on the Prince’s itinerary during his two-week tour of the Caribbean.
He is travelling between islands aboard the Wave Knight, a refuelling tanker that services Royal Navy ships in the area and takes part in patrols to catch drug smugglers.
On the journey from Port Zante to his second engagement of the day – a youth rally at Brimstone Hill Fortress – the Prince delighted children at a primary school by stopping his motorcade to talk to them.
A sudden downpour meant the children, waiting along the road to wave as Harry’s convoy went past, had to go back inside.
Seeing what had happened, the Prince told his driver to stop and ran in to speak to three and four-year-olds at Half Way Tree pre-school.
He kneeled down to chat to the children, asking them what they wanted to do as adults and spoke to them about school.
He also taught them how to do a salute, telling one little girl: “You would make a good policeman!”
When he asked: “Are you all well behaved? Do the teachers look after you?”, the group of 32 pupils giggled and he allowed them to play with his beard.
Teacher Octavia Brookes, 38, said: “Just like his mother”, as the prince spent around 10 minutes enjoying time with the children.
She added: “She (Diana, Princess of Wales) was just like him – he’s just like his mum, friendly in the same way. It is so nice meeting him.”
At Brimstone Hill, 800ft above the coast where British and French soldiers and sailors once fought for control of the island, Harry was guest of honour the youth rally.
He accepted an invitation to tap out some beats on a drum during a series of performances by young musicians.
At the spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the shadow of Mount Liamugia, the Prince was welcomed and seen off by a spectacularly colourful dance troupe, Sylvester’s Masquerade, wearing headdresses made of upright peacock feathers.
He danced along with them and posed for pictures, much to their delight.
The Prince also unveiled a plaque marking the St Kitts and Nevis contribution to The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy project, an initiative launched at the Commonwealth summit in Malta in 2015 to save forests across the 53-nation body.
“Your contribution is incredibly generous,” he told the audience of schoolchildren and VIPs. “The forests we see behind us are truly amazing – thank you so much for contributing them to this project in the year of the Queen’s 90th birthday – and wow what a present.”