Home Celebrity Royals

Royal roar: Prince Harry does his very best tiger impression

Striding into the jungle, Prince Harry put his best paw forward as he channeled his inner tiger on day three of his Nepal tour.
Prince Harry

Furthering his endeavours to improve the protection of wildlife, the 31-year-old royal dropped by the Bardia National Park to learn more about their conservation efforts to restore the tiger population.

Loading the player...

It was clear the London local was hoping to bump into his fellow ginger friends; instead he had to make do with pretending to be a tiger instead.

Crouching down to imitate a big cat, the former military man was shown how conservationists track the animal in a country park.

“Not as good as a tiger. You’d be a bit worried if you saw one of those walking towards you,” he joked.

Harry shows off his tiger moves! He may have missed a visit from the big cat but he was wowed when he was greeted by this elephant.

The Prince was then shown some incredible snaps of real tigers. “That, was here? Amazing,” he said.

“Show me that tiger again please, that was amazing, it’s beautiful. Fat, healthy, really healthy. They won’t struggle with food, as long as they’re fit and well.”

Harry was exceptionally impressed by the team’s achievements, praising them in a note left in the visitor’s book, which Kensington Palace tweeted.

“I congratulate every single one of you for what you have achieved here. Working together has proved itself and no rhinos poached for three years is near perfection. Well done all of you. Thank you from all of us who care for all these amazing animals and the habitat they live in,” he penned, signing the book, “Harry, Capt. Wales.”

The wildlife crusader was seriously impressed by the Bardia National Park team.

His whirlwind five day tour has been filled with a range of fun activities including a rafting trip on the Khauraha River and trekked in the foothills of the Himalayas to “see how Nepal’s natural bounty is being carefully opened up to visitors, so that conservation efforts an tourist revenue can become self-reinforcing,” his spokesman said in a statement.

While Harry has fallen for the Indian subcontinent, Nepal is just as besotted with the 31-year-old Prince.

Speaking how the nation holds a “special place” for him in their heart, the handsome redhead was bestowed another crown, king of a Gurkha village!

Bow down to your new king…

Following his trek into the foothills of the Himalayas, Harry opted to ditch a hotel to spend the night in a traditional homestay.

Much to Harry’s delight, the whole village of Leurani turned out to welcome the prince. Following a cultural show he was crowned with a white “pheta” turban, which signifies he is the village’s head man.

At the end of the show Harry went to have dinner with Mangali Tamang, where he stayed with her family for the evening. The 86-year-old widow cooked the Prince a dinner of rice, chicken curry, mixed vegetables, dahl and pickles.

Harry loved his homestay.

Accustomed to the spicy flavours of the dish, the royal spoke of his time serving in Afghanistan, revealing he ate goat curry every night.

“It started off really mild and then the spices got stronger and stronger. By the end, it was winter and all the guys were sitting eating in puffa jackets but the curry was so hot that I was sitting there sweating in my t-shirt,” he said laughing.

“It’s definitely too small!”

Staying the night at her home, Harry slept in a communal area that is normally used for cooking. A bed was brought in for the royal, his police protection weren’t as lucky and had to sleep on the floor.

Moved by the experience the Nepalese native quipped, “I’m very happy. I cried as when I die I can say I’ve talked to the King of a foreign land.”

Before he left, the village gift Harry with a waistcoat, a scarf and a hat which was too small for his head. Not letting the Prince leave, Harry had to try all his gifts on!

“Lucky it’s not too warm,” he joked about the jungle heat. “You’re going to really kit me out aren’t you?”

Loading the player...

Related stories