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Prince Harry plays football, honors war veterans on U.S. visit

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Prince Harry has a future in American football if that whole royal heir/third in line to the throne thing doesn’t work out.

The young royal set out on his U.S. visit over last week and, over the weekend, he partook in a very American pastime: football. The pigskin kind, not the soccer kind.

On his Sunday visit to the U.S. Air Force Training Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., Prince William’s younger brother threw the ball around with a few cadets and helped support the cheerleaders by acting as the base to a human pyramid topped by the academy’s Falcon mascot, E! reported. Tough life.

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The 28-year-old admitted that he was “not that great” at American football, according to Us Weekly.

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“Shall I throw or can I kick it?” he joked with his coaches. “Which part of the foot is best to use?”

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His highness took on engagements on behalf of charities he’s closely associated with. The events bore the central theme of supporting injured service personnel from British and U.S. forces as well as promoting British tourism. No wild romps in Vegas, since this time around the royal family is said to have ensured that Harry showed restraint and purpose during his visit, according to CBS News.

Harry’s trip began May 9 with a visit to Capitol Hill, where he met with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and was surrounded by throngs of screaming female admirers. He was there to highlight the anti-landmine campaign championed by his late mother, Princess Diana. On Friday, he visited the Walter Reed Military Medical Center and Arlington National Cemetery, honoring soldiers injured or killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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On Saturday the prince, who served in Britain’s armed forces, attended the 2013 Warrior Games for disabled or wounded veterans at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado. There, he participated in the opening ceremonies as well as a game of floor volleyball in which he spiked the ball on Olympic volleyball champ Misty May-Treanor.

“You’ve got the Olympics, you’ve got the Paralympics. There’s no reason the Warrior Games shouldn’t be recognized worldwide,” he said, kicking off the event with Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin.

On Tuesday, he’s set to visit sites ravaged by Superstorm Sandy with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and team up in New York with British Prime Minister David Cameron to promote British industry and tourism by riding into Manhattan in one of London’s new double-decker Routemaster buses, according to the Guardian. He’s also set participate in a polo tournament in Greenwich, Conn. before he returns to the U.K.

He also plans to trek through Antarctica with wounded vets this November and December.

Talk about a reformed playboy!

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Follow Ministry of Gossip @LATcelebs.

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