Prince Harry was put on the spot when a group of New Zealand school children grilled him on issues from the intricacies of the British monarchy to whether or not he lives in a castle and his favourite food.
Harry had spent the night on remote Stewart Island after enjoying a rowdy pub quiz with the residents the night before. The 30-year-old Prince spent his final morning on the stunning island at HalfMoon Bay School, the only school there, with just two teachers and 24 students, aged between five and 13.
He sat in on a beginner’s German class Over Skype with German teacher Stephanie Michel from her home near Auckland – almost 800 miles away, and admitted, “Sorry I don’t speak German.” When the teacher asked what the kids should call him, His Royal Highness replied: “Just Harry is fine… Harry with a German accent.”
The action man royal also revealed that unlike his grandmother The Queen, who is fluent in French, languages are not his strong point. “I learned French at school, but I’ve forgotten most of it I’m sorry,” Prince Harry said. “I would love to learn Spanish, but my headmaster [at elite UK school Eton] told me not to bother. I wish I could speak German.”
One girl asked him what he was going to get Princess Charlotte for being born and he replied he’d been given lots of teddies and toys during his time in the country.
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He then asked her if she thought it would be ok for him to take those things and claim he had got them for her himself.
Next up were questions about why his granddad was not called king despite being married to the Queen and whether or not he lived in a castle.
He said: “That’s a very good question, because he’s there to support her and rather than bearing the responsibility 50-50, he would prefer to support her and be there for the rest of her life.
“Sadly I don’t live in castle and I don’t even own a crown either, but you do [referring to some of the younger kids’ headwear]. The Queen has a castle which is pretty cool.”
One of the boys asked him what he had enjoyed most about Stewart Island, and he said: “No traffic, peace and quiet, beautiful sunrises, a school that’s small that means you get more attention from the teachers so you’ll turn out to be geniuses.
“If I was in your position I’d think I’d love to be on Stewart Island because your teacher knows exactly who you are and listens to you.”
One shy questioner wasn’t able to find his voice when his turn came, so Harry offered to read it for him and jumped up to take his piece of paper. But when he saw that it asked do you have to go to war he said “no wonder you didn’t want to ask it.”
He then replied: “If you are in the armed forces then yes you do, you serve your country and if you have to go to war, that’s where you have to go.”
The students charmed Harry with a specially prepared performance of a waiata, a traditional Maori folksong, some of them even wearing glittery crowns they had made for the occasion.
The performance from the children also saw them do readings for him and play Johnny Cash’s Famous song, Ring of Fire.
As he left the school all the children lined up and Harry made his way down the line shaking their hands.
The next stop in his trip will see him fly to Christchurch, as the week-long visit continues.
