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By Charlotte Greenfield
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – British prince Harry and his wife Meghan tossed rubber boots on Tuesday as kids cheered at a competition in Auckland, New Zealand 's largest city, though the only one was in town. Harry's team was defeated by his wife's team.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 felt by thousands of New Zealanders has not disrupted the couple's program, which is taking part in the last leg of a tour in the Pacific including Australia, the United States. Fiji and Tonga.
"There was not too much rivalry," said Isabella Iti, 10, after shooting at the gumboot. "I think she thought there was no chance she would win, but she did."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were traveling to a conservation area north of Auckland that had been reserved as part of a Commonwealth initiative to honor Queen Elizabeth's 66th birthday on the British throne .
There, the couple split up and everyone led a team of applause at a contest to see who could walk through a rubber boot – known locally as "gumboot" – the furthest away.
Meghan, dressed in black J Crew jeans and blazer Karen Walker, led his team to victory after throwing a blue boot about one meter (3.2 feet) longer than Harry's red.
The gumboot throws are associated with the rural town of Taihape, located about 420 km south of Auckland, where a gumboot festival is held each year.
Mike Jebsen, Managing Director of the QEII National Trust, said the mayor of Taihape had given his blessing for the gumboot competition.
"We wanted to give the royal couple a taste of rural New Zealand and there is nothing more by Kiwi than a gumboot throwing!" he said.
In the afternoon, Meghan and Harry traveled to South Auckland to visit the headquarters of Pillars, a charity organization that mentors the children of the prisoners.
For their wedding in May, Meghan and Harry had asked for charitable donations instead of gifts. The New Zealand government donated NZD 5,000 (US $ 3,271) to Pillars in recognition of the couple's interest in programs to help vulnerable children.
($ 1 = 1.5284 New Zealand dollar)
(Report by Charlotte Greenfield, edited by Darren Schuettler)
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