HRH The Prince Edward with Elizabeth and Rep. Dennis Kucinich

It isn’t every day that a member of the British royal family walks the halls of the US Capitol.

Washington welcomed HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, with a reception Monday evening by honorary co-hosts Sen. Roger Wicker, Sen. Mary Landrieu, Sen. Kay Hagan, and Sen. Thad Cochran. The Queen’s youngest son is the international champion of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a program founded by his father, Prince Phillip, more than fifty years ago. The award is designed to encourage youth around the world between the ages of 14 and 25 with character and self-esteem development through volunteering and physical challenges.

“We hear a lot about young people going wrong and very rarely do we actually give credit to the vast majority of young people want to go right. And here’s just one program that does that,” said Prince Edward. “At the end of [the program] they get recognized for their achievements and that’s a mark that will then hopefully open doors for them wherever they go.”

The program is now in 132 countries and has helped more than 800,000 youth become leaders in their communities. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – Young Americans’ Challenge was founded in the US in 2007, and is currently in 20 states and the District of Columbia.

Josh Randle, the President and Executive Director of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in the US, explains: “To earn a bronze, silver or gold award, participants spend approximately 1 hour each week on each activity, culminating with the adventurous journey component. The award is non-competitive, it’s non-academic but rather it aims to develop one’s entire self, creating responsible and experienced citizens and encouraging selfless service to others.”

Prince Edward is traveling to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and New York City to share the program’s mission, and to encourage and develop support from additional states, as well as other local and national youth programs, universities, and businesses.

“I’m proud to say that my state of Mississippi is among one of the 21 states to have embraced the award,” said Sen. Roger Wicker. “The award has achieved excellent momentum since it was launched four years ago here in the United States. I’m very excited about the work that has been done and the work that is to come.”

Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan is starting to work towards her own Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. In traveling the country and talking to young people she hears time again the biggest issue facing teens today is peer pressure.

“I think that says something huge. Why is peer pressure an issue? Because they don’t have the self-confidence to stand up to it. And how do we develop that self-confidence so they do have that and they’re able to stand up against peer pressure? By giving them opportunities for self-improvement. To have that sense of accomplishment that many people don’t get until they’re much older. And that’s what this program is all about, that’s what the Miss America Organization is all about: earning that sense of accomplishment.”

Attending the royal reception were Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – US Board Members Sam Haskell and Lanny Griffith; British Ambassador Nigel Sheinwald; Rep. Dennis Kucinich and wife, Elizabeth; Greta Van Susteren and John Coale; POLITICO’S Roger Simon and Marcia Kramer; Ellie Schafer, White House Visitor’s Office; Nathan Naylor, Veterans Affairs; AP’s Kimberly Dozier; Juleanna Glover; Ed Henry; and Michael & Meryl Chertoff.

For more information about the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award program in the United States go to www.usaward.org.

WHC Insider News, Washington Capitol Hill, Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Earl of Wessex, Ed Henry, Ellie Schafer, Greta Van Susteren, Josh Randle, Kimberly Dozier, Michael Chertoff, Miss America, Nigel Sheinwald, Prince Edward, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Sam Haskell, Senator Kay Hagan, Senator Mary Landrieu, Senator Roger Wicker, Senator Thad Cochran, Teresa Scanlan

Ed Henry, 2009 Gridiron Dinner. Haddad Media

The 2012-13 White House Correspondents Association election results are in–and so is President-Elect Ed Henry of CNN.

FishbowlDC shares the other incoming elects: Politico’s Carol Lee takes the At-Large Chair, Time’s Michael Scherer the Magazine Chair and Henry also won the TV Chair.

While congratulating Lee, Mike Allen shares the WHCA voting tally, proving the At-Large vote was the closest of the four races. Under the President write-ins, however, it’s hard not to notice one sarcastic vote for Helen Thomas.

Now that a new board has been selected, the eerily-quiet anticipation for who’ll inherit the abandoned front row seat may continue.

John Lichman Correspondents, DC, News, News Media, Schedules and Announcements, WHCA Dinner Carol Lee, Ed Henry, Helen Thomas, Michael Scherer, White House Correspondents Association

Washington types have started warming up their party chops for the whirlwind weekend surrounding the WHCA Dinner. Quinn Gillespie & Associates and FD hosted a cocktail party Tuesday night at Public Bar. For more photos, check out The Washington Scene from The Hill.

Jack and Susanna Quinn
Photo: Neshan H. Naltchayan

CNN's Ed Henry
Photo: Neshan H. Naltchayan

Jack Quinn and FOX News' Bret Baier
Photo: Neshan H. Naltchayan

jdonofrio DC, Event Coverage, Washington Events Bret Baier, Ed Henry, FD, Jack Quinn, Quinn & Gillespie, Susanna Quinn, WHCA Dinner

Jay Leno’s back at the Tonight Show (in March) and back at the WHCD (in May), a venue he “headlined in 2004, 2000 and 1987,” according to Ed Henry’s report this morning at CNN.

The WH Correspondents Association, which hosts the annual dinner to raise money for college scholarships and journalism prizes, invited the comic weeks ago when “he was simply the host of a prime-time show that was failing five nights a week. But when he appears at the [dinner] … Leno will be the guy who pushed aside Conan O’Brien,” writes Lisa de Moraes in today’s Washington Post.

Click here for Lisa’s write up.

gtruong DC, News Media, Washington Events Conan O'Brien, Ed Henry, Jay Leno, Lisa de Moraes, White House Correspondents Association

Alan Krueger and Billie Jean King

The Washington Kastles held their first annual celebrity tennis match to benefit the American Red Cross on the final night of the Washington Kastles season … and crowned Obama’s Assistant Treasury Secretary MVP. Alan Krueger joined media and political celebrities — Sen. Evan Bayh, Fox’s Bret Baier, CNN’s Ed Henry and ABC’s Jonathan Karl — coaching on the sidelines: Billie Jean King and the GEICO Caveman.

Bloomberg’s Al Hunt and Margaret Carlson called the game in a Washington version of the Wimbledon voice over. Celebrity ball kids included Patrick Henry (8), David (8) and Rachel (10) Greenberg, Betsy Fischer’s daughter Ella (8), and Jonathan Karl’s girls Anna (9) and Emily (12).

Celebrity Tennis in Washington from whcinsider on Vimeo.

gtruong Event Coverage, Washington Events Al Hunt, Alan Krueger, Billie Jean King, Bret Baier, Ed Henry, Evan Bayh, GEICO Caveman, Jonathan Karl, Margaret Carlson, Washington Kastles

Alan Krueger

With Redskins superstar Darrell Green and tennis great Ilana Kloss, it was hard to imagine that a former Princeton economics professor would be the breakout star of the first annual celebrity tennis match to benefit the American Red Cross on the final night of the Washington Kastles season.

Alan Krueger, Assistant Treasury Secretary for Economic Policy, impressed his team and his media/political opponents — including Senator Evan Bayh, Fox’s Brett Baier, CNN’s Ed Henry and ABC’s Jonathan Karl. Coaching on the sidelines: Billie Jean King and the GEICO Caveman.

GEICO Caveman with Darrell Green

Bloomberg’s Al Hunt and Margaret Carlson called the game in a Washington version of the Wimbledon voice over. Celebrity ball kids included Patrick Henry (8), David (8) and Rachel (10) Greenberg, Betsy Fischer’s daughter Ella (8), and Jonathan Karl’s girls Anna (9) and Emily (12).

Insiders were disappointed that Washington fav Gene Sperling had to cancel his appearance due to meetings, but Kreuger was the tournament’s MVP. Kastles owner Mark Ein has expanded the reach of the franchise, only in their second year, and with this first-ever charity celeb match has created a new Washington tradition.

Check out all the photos …

and check back later for video highlights.

thaddad Washington Events Al Hunt, Alan Krueger, Billie Jean King, Brett Baier, Darrell Green, Ed Henry, Evan Bayh, GEICO Caveman, Ilana Kloss, Jonathan Karl, Margaret Carlson, Mark Ein

A few more guest lists are now known for tonight’s RTCA dinner

CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer will attend the RTCA dinner

CBS, which is hosting a pre-party at the Convention Center, will have, among others, RNC Chairman Michael Steele; National Security Council member Samantha Powers; Dag Vega, the White House’s director of broadcast media and Lebanese Ambassador Antoine Chedid.

CNN, which took a full 15 tables, is hosting CIA Director Leon Panetta, U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan; White House Communications Director Anita Dunn and, as it usually does, a number of military folks, including Army Lt. General Francis Kearney.

There will be a full roster of CNN talent there, too, including Wolf Blitzer, Ed Henry, Suzanne Malveaux, Dan Lothian, Joe Johns, Heidi Collins, Brianna Keilar, Gloria Borger, Bill Schneider, Kate Bolduan, Barbara Starr, Chris Lawrence, Lisa Sylvester, Tom Foreman, Jim Acosta, Howard Kurtz and Jeffrey Toobin.

EJensen Washington Events, rtca dinner Anita Dunn, Antoine Chedid, Barbar Starr, Bill Schneider, Brianna Keilar, Chris Lawrence, Dag Vega, Dan Lothian, Ed Henry, Elena Kagan, Francis Kearney, Gloria Borger, Heidi Collins, Howard Kurtz, Jeffrey Toobin, Jim Acosta, Joe Johns, Kate Bolduan, Leon Panetta, Lisa Sylvester, Michael Steele, Samantha Powers, Suzanne Malveaux, Tom Foreman, Wolf Blitzer