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THE royal tour has reached its penultimate day, with Harry and Meghan taking in perhaps their most unusual activity yet — a “welly wanging” competition.
But all eyes were on the Duchess of Sussex’s outfit that evening when she stepped out for a formal reception in Auckland — with Meghan surprising commentators by wearing a recycled dress.
TODAY’S ITINERARY
• Fly to Auckland
• Watch a welly-wanging (gumboot-throwing) competition
• Visit Pillars, an initiative which supports kids who have a parent in prison
• Public walkabout at Viaduct Harbour
• Attend a reception hosted by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the Auckland War Memorial
MEGHAN AND HARRY’S NIGHT OUT WITH NZ PM
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have arrived for their last engagement of the day, an evening reception hosted by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the Auckland War Memorial.
The party is being held to honour guests aged between 17 to 25 who have made a positive contribution to their community.
Meghan opted to wear an understated but elegant navy Antonio Berardi dress, while Harry looked dapper in a suit.
The Duchess of Sussex appears to have taken a leaf out of sister-in-law Kate Middleton’s book and decided to wear a recycled outfit after first wearing the dress to watch Harry play polo last year.
The expectant parents were greeted at the entrance by hordes of fans and Ms Ardern, who appeared to share a warm exchange with Meghan as they made their way inside.
MEETING THE LOCALS
This afternoon Meghan and Harry are at their biggest public appearance of the day, pressing the flesh with Auckland locals — many of whom have bee waiting since this morning — at the city’s waterfront Viaduct:
And is it just us, or has Meghan’s bump suddenly grown a fair bit?
ROYAL WELLY WANGERS
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex braved more wet weather to dedicate a 20-hectare area of native bush to the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy in Auckland this morning:
After that, they tried their hand at a bit of ‘welly wanging’ — gumboot throwing. Meghan seems a natural:
With heavy rain showing up on and off throughout the morning, Harry was quick to help Meghan avoid any mud mishaps.
Following the welly-wanging contest — which Meghan’s team won — the couple was given an adorable pair of tiny wellingtons for their baby, to add to its vastly-growing wardrobe.
MEGHAN AND HARRY VISIT PILLARS CHARITY
After a private lunch and quick outfit change, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at the South Auckland head office for Pillars, a charity dedicated to supporting the children of prisoners.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern accompanied them on their visit.
Meghan swapped her blazer, jeans and gumboots for a pink Brandon Maxwell dress and Burberry jacket, while Prince Harry changed into a blue suit.
About 200 people — including children, families and Pillars supporters — gathered at the charity headquarters to meet the royals.
As we await more activity, sweet stories from the previous day of the royal tour are still surfacing …
A PRINCELY JOB OFFER
Hundreds of people may have been lucky enough to meet the royals over the past couple of weeks — but one New Zealand teen has managed to secure an actual job offer from Prince Harry himself.
Lucia Kennedy, 19, acted as the host for Harry and Meghan’s visit at a youth mental health event in a community cafe in Wellington on Monday, and told Stuff.co.nz that he’d promised to “sort out” a job for her when she finished her university degree.
“They came up the stairs in the Maranui Cafe, I was introduced and basically had a chat to them. Then I took them around all the participants and kept the conversation going at the next two tables,” Ms Kennedy said.
“I said to Harry, ‘I finish uni in two years, I’d love to come and work for you’. He said ‘we’d love to have you, just give us a yell when you come over we’ll sort it out’.”
The royals’ cafe visit was aimed at helping to eradicate stigma around talking about mental health issues.
“They were so authentic,” she said. “Everyone was nervous but as soon as they walked in it was like they brought a calming presence.”
A SCARY ENCOUNTER
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were given a spooky welcome by young artists at a Halloween-themed event in Wellington on Monday night.
After another whirlwind day of their royal tour, Prince Harry and Meghan arrived at Courtney Creative in the early evening for the Things That Go Bump In The Night exhibition, celebrating the city’s thriving arts scene.
They were all smiles upon arrival, but reportedly got a bit of a shock after coming face-to-face with an orc — one of the terrifying creatures from the Lord Of The Rings franchise, which was famously filmed in New Zealand.
According to People magazine, Luke Hawker, the man dressed as the alarming creature, later told reporters: “I didn’t know if I was supposed to shake their hand but they were standing there. They seemed quite scared.”
Upon arrival, the couple had been greeted by two men dressed as soldiers who were guarding the door, with photos and video from the event showing Harry and Meghan enthusiastically interacting with everyone in costume.
She may have missed the costume memo, but Meghan looked stunning nonetheless in an above-the-knee white suit dress by NZ designer Maggie Marilyn, with a navy Winser London coat over her shoulders, while Harry wore a dark grey suit and white shirt.
Earlier in the day, Harry and Meghan met with a group of people from mental health initiatives at a local cafe, received a welcome ceremony at Abel Tasman National Park and went on a trail walk with rangers, then attended a barbecue with the park’s young ambassadors.
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