Prince Harry back in the U.S., for charity this time

By Dan Rivoli

Special to amNewYork

It's not quite like the Beatles landing at Kennedy Airport, but New York City is getting a visit from a young British icon.

Prince Harry is planning a trip to the U.S. in May where he will visit New York City and five other cities.

From May 9-15, the 28-year-old British royal will spend six days traversing America. It's his first time in the states since last May when pictures of the naked prince at a Las Vegas bash surfaced.

Harry is scheduled to be in New York City from May 14 to 15 to promote the GREAT campaign, a program to boost U.K. trade and tourism.

He will also be on hand for charity baseball game with several dozen young players from disadvantaged backgrounds, according to Patricia Summers, a spokeswoman at the British Consulate in New York City.

The baseball program is in partnership with the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. His New York trip will also include a Manhattan fundraiser for the foundation.

Nicky Perry, the owner of British restaurants in Manhattan Tea & Sympathy and A Salt & Battery, welcomed the news that Harry will visit New York, saying he shares the qualities of his late mother, Princess Diana.

"He has got what she had, this amazing ability to reach out and people just love him," Perry said. "I just think he's definitely destined to step into her shoes as far as her charity work is concerned."

As for his playboy antics go, Perry said the "cute" prince needs to have fun like anyone else.

"Let's hope he doesn't get caught," she said. "At the end of the day, I don't think it's such a bad thing."

He will also tour Superstom Sandy-damaged areas in New Jersey.

His itinerary includes events in Greenwich, Conn.; Colorado Springs and Denver, Colo.; and Washington, D.C., where he will meet with veterans at Arlington National Cemetery and Walter Reed military hospital.

A captain in the British military, Harry has piloted an Apache helicopter with the Army Air Corps. He returned from a four-month tour in Afghanistan in January.

The upcoming trip will be Harry's third time in New York. In his time here, in June 2010, he met with military and veteran organizations and played polo on Governor's Island for his charity that aids children in Lesotho.