
I won't lie: When I saw that Prince Harry had acted in a new skit, I was bracing myself to cringe slightly. Luckily, though, the Duke of Sussex let the other actors in the video provide the comic relief while he acted normal/annoyed—the result being that the whole thing is in fact pretty funny.
Anyway, the duke participated in said skit to promote Travalyst, the non-profit he launched in partnership with various travel brands to help both travelers and travel providers make more planet-friendly choices on their trips. This is one of several ways the royal works to help the environment.
In the skit, a jogging Prince Harry is pursued by "Aotearoa New Zealand Trip Raters," who are on a mission to rate him as a visitor to New Zealand in 2018. (By the way, Aotearoa is the Māori term for the country, and the case is increasingly being made for using it instead, though Travalyst chose to use both.)
Switching between Te Reo Māori (or simply Māori) and English, the duke acts confused as to what exactly is happening. The first "rater" tells him, "so you know how people rate the places they visit. Well imagine if those destinations rated you back. ... And we're trialing it now for the first time."
He proceeds to tell him Prince Harry he received three stars, though he apparently won some Brownie points for only using one towel over his stay, being respectful of local people, and turning the water off while brushing his teeth.
Then comes in a second rater, who tells the first that there's been a mixup, and he was meant to rate Harry Styles, not "the stylish Harry."
I will note at this stage that the stylish Harry was in fact looking very stylish for the video, wearing a gray t-shirt that said "girl dad" on it, as a sweet nod to his daughter Lilibet.
The duke then picks up his phone to call someone, while the first rater realizes his mistake and says, "I've gone in completely the wrong direction." I'm sad to report I laughed way too hard at that.
In the end, it turns out Prince Harry was rated four stars. But, as I'm sure you'll have figured out by now, the point of this whole thing is to make you think about your impact on the planet when you travel. It made Harry think, apparently.
Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.
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