MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Prince Edwards meets President Ricardo Lagos.

Prince Edward arrives this evening in Santiago for a 24 hours visit to Chile after participating Tuesday in the inauguration of Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez administration in Montevideo.

The Count of Wessex is scheduled to meet President Ricardo Lagos and will have lunch Thursday with Foreign Affairs Minister Ignacio Walker.

Last Monday in Montevideo, Prince Edward who loves the stage shared time with The Montevideo Players, a local English theatre group. He later visited a school in one of the Uruguayan capital poorest neighbourhood which is financed by the British Embassy and before lunch the former Royal Marine sailed in Pocitos Bay with one of the Maritime and Fluvial rescue vessels which operates in the River Plate and was donated by the British government. The Prince also visited the British Hospital, British Cemetery and hosted a cocktail for the British community in Montevideo. Although not as popular as the Spanish Crown Prince Felipe and wife Letizia, Prince Edward and Sophie were applauded and cheered wherever they visited.

Monday evening at the official reception of the outgoing Uruguayan government for all the visiting foreign representatives Prince Edward spoke with President Vázquez, outgoing President Jorge Batlle and with his next host Chilean president Lagos.

British Ambassador John Everard said Prince Edward "was very pleased to be in Uruguay (his first visit to South America) and was very impressed with the city's architecture".

During the taking oath ceremony of President Vázquez in the Uruguayan Parliament building Tuesday, Prince Edward was seated next to Spanish Prince Felipe and South American presidents including Brazil's Lula da Silva; Argentina's Nestor Kirchner; Paraguay's Nicanor Duarte Frutos; Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Peru's Alejandro Toledo.