Prince Harry gives Canada’s rowers a royal visit

It was a bit like the neighbor who drops by to see how clean the house is while your parents are away. On Thursday, Prince Harry popped by Canada Olympic House to check up on the colonies and watch a bit of oarsmanship.

Unlike the contentious, sometimes nasty US-UK relationship epitomized by Billy Bob Thornton and Hugh Grant in "Love Actually", Canadians love our Brits - especially when we get to lord something over them. It's a bit like a college student showing off his report card to his parents: he doesn't need their approval, but it sure is nice anyway.

So it was Thursday when his Princeness saddled up next to Canadian rower Malcolm Howard to watch Canada's women's eights take a silver medal and narrowly miss avenging Great Britain's stunning defeat by the U.S. in the Revolutionary War.

Harry was gracious enough to chat at length with Howard, whose men's eights boat beat out Great Britain for silver on Wednesday. Howard even let the prince touch the silver medal, in an extraordinary show of either sportsmanship or utter bravado, with the exquisite words of a true loyal subject:

Harry and the rest of the royals had spent Wednesday at Eton-Dorney basin, reminiscing about their school days and watching the Canadian men uphold the strong rowing tradition of former English colonies who are good at outracing Brits in boats. One imagines Harry drew the short straw and had to be the one to congratulate us, keeping up appearances just in case they decide to take Canada back one day.

While Harry was spending Thursday morning eating humble pie and congratulating the dominion, Will and Kate were off to Wimbledon, where they watched the tennis from the cheap seats. Being heir to a kingdom ain't what it used to be.