Royals arrive in New Zealand



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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.

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

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.

Harry and Meghan are now enjoying a private lunch, but 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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