Prince Harry Celebrates Holi With Schoolchildren In Nepal

Prince Harry celebrated the Hindu festival of Holi, also called the festival of colors, during an engagement at the Gurkha headquarters in Pokhara as part of his official five-day visit to Nepal on Tuesday. He then visited the Gauda Secondary School in the foothills of Himalayas for Holi festival. The British royal was smeared with red powder or "gulal" by students who could not stop laughing.

The prince took part in a traditional paint fight during the celebration of Holi, which ushers in the spring. The 31-year-old was given a warm welcome by villagers who decked him with garlands and scarves in Okhari. The ceremony began with the school’s head girl Juna Garang, 15, smearing red paint on Harry’s bearded cheeks.

The fun continued with his former army colleague, Gurkha officer Major Prakash Gurung, applying paint on him. There was lots of camaraderie as Harry, his staff, his bodyguards and even the journalists played with colors. “Thanks!” Harry said, with a grin, before scooping up a big handful of paint and throwing it back in return.

The British royal visited the school that was devastated by the earthquake last year. He witnessed how the Gurkha Welfare Trust helped finance the building of the facility. Harry trekked down the hillside for over an hour from the village of Leorani where he stayed with a local family.

After looking around the school, Harry played volleyball with the children, before the Holi festival began. He managed to wash off most of the paint by the time he left the school.

On Monday night, Harry stayed with a local family in Leorani village. He had food at the home of widow Mangali Tamang along with her family.