Incredible footage has emerged online of Prince Harry showing off his surfing skills in California.
The Royal is seen expertly navigating the big waves at surfing superstar Kelly Slater’s ‘Surf Ranch’ in Leemore, central California, over 100 miles from the ocean.
The video posted to professional surfer Raimana Van Bastolaer’s Instagram account shows Harry taming ‘the wave’.
Van Bastolaer, who is famous among the surfing community for his big wave surfing activities in Tahiti, captioned the post; ‘In Tahiti we still call you Prince Harry. But at Surf Ranch it’s my brother. It was an honor to have you surf with me and Kelly Slater.”
Harry starts by riding alongside Van Bastolaer’s jet ski and pulls back as soon as the wave starts to appear, before expertly jumping on top of his board.
The Duke of Sussex then finds his balance and, under the guidance of Van Bastolaer, skillfully tackles the growing wave for almost a minute.
The wave is the central feature of Slater’s surf ranch and is a man-made, first of its kind, 6-foot-long barrel wave that reaches up to 2,300 feet.
It has been called the best artificial wave in the world and is still the only one to receive World Surf League accreditation, meaning it is suitable for hosting elite-level competitions.
Prince Harry seen here riding next to Raimana Van Bastolaer’s jet ski, just before he tamed ‘the wave’
You can see the Duke of Sussex jumping expertly on his board
Harry rode ‘the best artificial wave in the world’ for just under a minute
Under the leadership of Van Bastolaer, Harry navigated the swelling wave adeptly
Harry previously received surfing lessons from Meghan four years ago
Harry pictured at the end of a nearly 700-metre run on ‘the wave’
Since leaving the United Kingdom four years ago, Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have lived in the picturesque area of Montecito, California.
Upon their arrival in the coastal town, which is about 90 minutes north of Los Angeles, it was reported that Meghan had bought Harry surfing lessons for his 36th birthday.
Also regularly seen along Malibu’s famous Surfrider Beach, it’s clear Harry has put those lessons to good use.
During his time in the United States, Harry also apparently made friends with surfing royalty such as 11-time world champion Slater and Van Bastolaer, with the group pictured together at last year’s Formula 1 Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
This blossoming friendship with Slater may come as something of a surprise, however, after the surfing phenom openly criticized Harry and Meghan on social media in the wake of their explosive 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Although it seems Harry was able to look past this, with his surfing skills certainly impressing under the tutelage of Slater and Van Bastolaer.