Royal Visitors
Apr 29, 2011 7:43 pm
[caption id=“attachment_4382” align=“aligncenter” width=“235” caption=“Prince Harry has visited Governors Island twice to play polo on the South Island fields (photo from thedailytruffle.com).”]
[/caption] The great enthusiasm over Prince William and Catherine Middleton’s wedding earlier today put us in a royal state of mind and got us thinking about members of royal families who have visited the Island. We have been lucky to have had a few royal visitors in recent years. William’s younger brother Harry (now Britain’s most eligible bachelor) has visited Governors Island twice for the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic (for those keeping track, the Prince’s team won the match two years in a row). Harry’s cousin, Princess Beatrice, also attended last year to cheer him on. [caption id=“attachment_4383” align=“aligncenter” width=“300” caption=“In 2010, Prince Harry and Nacho Figueras race down the pitch to score in the Polo Classic”]
[/caption] In 2009, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage into New York Harbor, Prince Willem and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands came to the Island and danced to the sounds of Armin Van Buren at Water Taxi Beach. 
- The royal couple from the Netherlands enjoyed the music of Armin Van Buren.
And, while Queen Elizabeth has never been on Governors Island itself, she did take a ride on our ferry, the Coursen, during her first visit to New York City in 1957.