After four whirlwind days of formal events, speech-making, tree-plantings, meet and greets and walkabouts, the Duke and Duchess concluded their New Zealand tour on Wednesday.
Their last walkabout was in Roturua on Wednesday afternoon, where the public turned out in droves for one final chance to see the popular royal couple.
Grace Collins, 18, waited three hours and said it was “so worth it”. “Oh my god, she is gorgeous,” referring to Duchess Meghan.
A toddler broke through the barricades and made a beeline for Prince Harry.
‘Briwis’ Cam and Sophie McKinnon from Tauranga were hoping for a second look at the couple after they and their family got “four good handshakes” from Meghan at the other end of the walk.
Crowd goer Cam McKinnon thought Duchess Meghan “looked very royal considering she hasn’t been doing this that long.”
We’re well used to the royal couple breaking royal protocol so it was no surprise that the Duchess took a selfie with a fellow mama-to-be. The pregnant woman’s mother had been holding a sign that said, ‘that bump suits you. She
Many turned out with gifts for the Duke and Duchess, including fluffy toys, pounamu and a framed miniature korowai.
Eleven-year-old school girls Sofia, Lily, Charlotte and Sophie, pictured above, came straight from school to see the royal couple and managed to shake hands with them and give Prince Harry a buzzy bee toy.
They were “absolutely buzzing” afterwards and said the Duke and Duchess were “very nice”.
Rotorua local Mutu had a pounamu carved by Lewis Gardiner for Duchess Meghan.
“This beautiful little greenstone it’s for bub. The idea is that mum wears it and gathers a bit of love, mana, feeling. Then when baby is born mum keep wearing it till it’s appropriate to give it to bub.
“It’s traditionally used for teething …baby can gnaw on it,” she said.
The couple’s final engagement in New Zealand is a tree walk at The Redwoods – Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua, before flying home to the UK this evening.
For everything you need to know about the royal tour, click here.
