What Brought Harry to the Cowtown Coliseum?
Trying to puzzle out why Prince Harry was at the rodeo in Fort Worth on Saturday night...
Last night someone drew my attention to the fact that Prince Harry was in Fort Worth, Texas, this past weekend. He was at the Stockyards Championship Rodeo at the Cowtown Coliseum on Saturday night. Richard Eden had shared the image on Instagram, and I saw it over the weekend, but forgot to circle back around and investigate.
According to a local paper, one of the organizers of the rodeo wrote in an Instagram post she later deleted:
“Where was Prince Harry Saturday night? Oooooh, just hanging out behind the bucking chutes at the Stockyards Championship Rodeo!! Loooove it!! Thank you for the visit!!”
Melton Bull Company—a company that raises and trains bucking bulls—also shared a post about Harry’s appearance, and that post was also deleted. Since both posts were deleted, it is safe to conclude that Harry wanted his visit to be under the radar. Although interestingly, Omid Scobie did not remove his tweet reporting on the prince’s visit:
It is a little surprising to see Harry at the rodeo. Enjoying a luxury box at the Los Angeles Super Bowl among other tinseltown glitterati was not a surprise, but seeing him deep in the heart of Texas, and at a rodeo no less, was definitely a double-take moment. Of all the states in the Union, Texas probably feels most strongly about the First Amendment, which Harry has labeled “bonkers,” and of course, rodeos are generally frowned upon by Meghan’s set. PETA is already up in arms about Harry’s appearance. But I digress…
Since the news broke, we all have been trying to puzzle out why he was there. I know a number of you mentioned that Joe Biden was in Fort Worth this week on a veteran-related trip, but Harry was spotted on Saturday night and Biden didn’t come to Fort Worth until Tuesday. I think that connection would have been announced by now.
One theory is that Harry was in Fort Worth for a corporate (paid) speaking event. He did have access to behind the chutes, which suggests that, at the very least, the organizers were contacted about his visit and arranged VIP treatment. Or, as I say, it might have been through an event. Harry appeared to be with an older man—also in a hat that would not be classified as a cowboy hat. Although in one picture, he is standing along one of the cobbled streets of the stockyards—at the intersection of Rodeo Plaza and Exchange outside the Coliseum—carrying what appears to be a Coors can, which feels more like a personal visit than a business event.
A number of you have hypothesized that Harry was at the rodeo filming for some yet unannounced Netflix documentary. But photos I received from a reader at the rodeo don’t show any cameras surrounding Harry. And again, I can’t really imagine Meghan allowing Harry to highlight a Texas rodeo in any of their media content.