Prince Harry Steps Out for One His Personal Favorite Outings of the Year — the Cricket World Cup!

Cricket fan Prince Harry attended the opening match of the ICC Cricket World Cup at the Oval in London on Thursday.

The ICC Cricket World Cup, which takes place from May 30 until July 14, is being hosted by England and Wales and will feature the world’s top 10 teams, nine of whom are from the Commonwealth. Over one million people are expected to attend matches and World Cup activations in England and Wales, with a further 1.5 billion watching around the world.

Upon his arrival, the new dad, who left Meghan Markle and baby Archie at home at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor while he took on his royal duties, met with young children who had been selected as Anthem Children from the Cricket World Cup youth engagement program.

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Harry also spent time with young people who were picked as flag bearers and will be walking out ahead of the teams, carrying the competing nations’ flags for the pre-match national anthems.

Harry will also meet children from Henry Fawcett School near the Oval, whose students are participating in the opening sequence and will accompany each nation’s heliosphere onto the field of play.

Last week, Harry traveled to Rome for a charity polo match for his organization, Sentebale, which supports vulnerable children affected by HIV and AIDS.

“You can tell what am incredible affinity he has for children,” Johnny Hornby, Chairman of Sentebale, told PEOPLE. “He is a magnet for children. I didn’t think he could have appreciated children more than he did before, but I have seen a whole new involvement with them now that he is a father.”

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Today, The Duke of Sussex opened the @ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, a six-week tournament featuring the world’s top ten cricket teams – nine of which represent Commonwealth countries. As His Royal Highness said in his speech this morning: “The first ever cricket World Cup took place in England in 1975 and I'm delighted that the UK will once again play host to this wonderful global sporting event featuring ten incredible teams who, thanks to the UK’s cultural diversity, will feel as though they are competing in front of a home crowd every time they take to the field.” Today marks the fifth time England has hosted the Cricket World Cup. Tournaments like the @cricketworldcup are a huge opportunity to inspire kids all over the world in the power of sport – encouraging them to participate in activity that fosters teamwork, supports an active lifestyle, and builds a deep sense of community. Yesterday Her Majesty the Queen and The Duke hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup team captains at Buckingham Palace, and today His Royal Highness met with young people involved in cricket youth engagement programmes and local school children from the Henry Fawcett School. Over the next six weeks, over one million people are expected to attend cricket matches and World Cup activations in the eleven host venues across England and Wales, with a further 1.5 billion watching around the world. On behalf of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, best of luck to everyone taking part in the @ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 – and a big thank you to all those staff and volunteers, supporters and fans who will make these next six weeks so special.

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on May 30, 2019 at 4:09am PDT

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Also at the match in Rome was Harry’s good friend, Argentine polo player Nacho Figueras.

“Nacho met little Archie last week and said that the Duke couldn’t take his eyes off of him — nor his hands,” Hornby adds. “The two of them are just in a state of sheer delight over this birth.”

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“The Duke is the kind of father I always imagined he would be,” Figueras told PEOPLE. “He has always had a great love for children and a great understanding of them. I noticed that becoming a father has influenced him and his dedication and love for the project is now stronger than ever.”

As for how Harry is handling balancing his royal duties with caring for his new son, Figueras said he’s still “very present.”

“When duty calls. He is just 24 hours away from home, and I am sure he is doing just fine. He is a wonderful father and very present and he is here for an amazing cause.”

from PEOPLE.com https://people.com/royals/prince-harry-attends-cricket-world-cup/