Prince Harry has described his Diamond Jubilee tour as an "emotional trip" that opened his eyes to how fondly Commonwealth nations regard his grandmother the Queen.
Harry said he was "choked up" by the way the countries he visited - Belize, the Bahamas and Jamaica - were celebrating the monarch's 60-year reign.
The 27-year-old Prince revealed he had set off for the seven-day tour with a ringing endorsement from his grandmother who told him "enjoy it, I hope you do me proud".
Speaking after a polo match in aid of his charity Sentebale staged in Brazil, which the royal has been visiting to promote Britain, the Prince said: "I tell you what, it's been an emotional trip.
"I'm absolutely exhausted but the warmth of the reception that we've received from every single country that we've been to has been amazing.
"I personally had no idea how much warmth there was towards the Queen, to me that's been very humbling, and I was actually quite choked up seeing the way that they're celebrating her 60 years.
"She's thousands of miles away to some of these countries and yet they celebrated her in the way they did, and made me feel so welcome, so I couldn't thank them more."
Harry has remained true to himself throughout the tour, bringing his sense of humour and fun to engagements and proving himself to be an adept public speaker like his father, the Prince of Wales.
In Belize the royal enjoyed a Diamond Jubilee street party and was swept up by the genuinely warm welcome from the locals that saw him dancing with performers, tasting local food and even downing shots of rum.
The Bahamas gave the royal the chance to formally honour the Queen with the rest of the Commonwealth country at a national service of thanksgiving for the monarch.
The royal's humour has been a constant presence throughout his Diamond Jubilee tour and the visit to Brazil, which ends today - and Harry said he liked to think he was funnier than the Queen.
The latest example of the prince's light-hearted side saw him wearing a Duke of Cambridge face-mask when he took part in a Sport Relief Mile run on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro.
Asked if he got his comic side from his grandmother the third-in-line to the throne replied: "She is very funny, but I think she gets it from my grandfather.
"They are very funny together. My family is the same as any other family when it comes to humour behind closed doors, though I'd like think I was funnier than my grandmother. I just hope that my grandmother is proud of what we've done."
Questioned about hugging the Jamaican prime minister, who appeared to have taken to him, Harry replied: "She hugged me. She did ask, she loves hugs, she hugged my father too.
"We just had a very nice chat, having had a fantastic time in Jamaica and all three countries."
Commenting on how he approached his first solo tour on behalf of the Queen, the Prince said: "You can't sit there with a stiff upper lip and not get involved.
"We knew how fantastic these countries would be, I've never taken myself too seriously. I've had a gas."
Questioned about the unusual blue boots he wore during the trip, Harry replied that he was not seeking style advice from the Duchess of Cambridge, adding: "She's not giving me tips yet.
"The blue boots, Jamaica is Jamaica, it was the time to bring them out. I was fighting the urge to bring them out earlier, but knowing I was going to meet Rita Marley, it was the time to bring them out."
And Harry revealed he had been planning his subterfuge against Usain Bolt, which saw the royal distract the world's fastest man and beat him in a sprint, for quite a while.
"About five days to a week before. I was thinking to myself, whatever it is, I'm going to catch him and catch him when he's off guard - he thought about taking me on, but he's a bit slow."
Harry said the military was the focus for both himself and his brother William but he suggested he would find the time aside from his job as an Apache helicopter pilot to support the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee year.
He said: "I will help out with my grandmother whenever she needs me, but I have this job that does suck up a lot of my time, and that's the number one for me.
"But yes, the jubilee is the jubilee and family comes first."
Asked about London 2012 and his involvement, Harry touchingly referred to Kate as his "sister". He said: "The three of us, my brother and my sister, will be as involved as we can be.
"I still love my sport, maybe not quite so much in this heat.
"And yes, I will be visiting most of the countries I've visited again, as best I can."