Harry and Meghan battle it out in welly-wanging competition
The Duchess of Sussex showed off her welly-wanging prowess with a deft underarm throw on the latest stop of their marathon royal tour.
Harry and Meghan and their respective teams sparred off in Redvale, north of Auckland, after planting trees and dedicating 20 hectares of forest to the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy (QCC) scheme.
They planted puriri and kowhai trees, the latter of which was represented on Meghan’s veil when she married Harry in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in May.
Harry and Meghan wang wellies #RoyalVisitNewZealandpic.twitter.com/vJbl0ERIv0
— Alexander Britton (@adbritton) October 30, 2018
After meeting children from environmental education programme Trees for Survival, the couple then got their hands dirty to plant the trees before heading over to throw wellies – or gumboots.
Harry and Meghan each had two children on their team and took it in turns throwing boots as other pupils cheered them on.
The duchess’s team emerged victorious after she landed her boot a good metre closer to the target than the duke.
Harry and Meghan, wearing black skinny J Crew jeans and a Karen Walker blazer, arrived on Tuesday morning after torrential rain showers at the paddock.
Nelson Poll, 11, was on Meghan’s team and said: “I think Harry’s technique was better – it was straight forward instead of going at an angle.
“I said to Meghan ‘try to keep it forward and not too high’.”
When asked who he felt wanted to win more, Nelson said: “Probably Harry.”
The duke praised New Zealand for its commitment to the QCC – an initiative which promotes the conservation of forests.
At today’s @QueensCanopy dedication, The Duchess of Sussex planted a Kōwhai tree, the flower of which was one of 53 on the veil of her wedding dress, representing each nation of the Commonwealth. #RoyalVisitNZpic.twitter.com/3MbJH03ow2
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) October 30, 2018
He said: “It is fitting that New Zealand’s contribution to the Canopy has been through its relationship with the QEII National Trust.
“The Trust was set up to mark the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977. Since then, nearly four and a half thousand covenants have been registered through the Trust.
“When you think that each of those covenants is enabling the protection of important areas of biodiversity on private land – that is a huge achievement and one that deserves recognition.
“And as I learned in the car there are no incentives; farmers are doing this because it’s the right thing to do.”
