Thousands turn out to greet royal couple in Sydney
SYDNEY: Beaming parentstobe Prince Harry and his wife Meghan won over Sydney with a royal charm offensive yesterday.
Rain that had dampened Sydney for more than a week cleared to reveal a glittering harbour backdrop for the first day of a 16day tour — and thousands of excited fans.
The news announced on Monday night that they were expecting their first child in the northern spring added extra excitement to the visit — and ended the isshe orisn’tshe speculation.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were married five months ago, were openly affectionate with each other throughout the day and delighted more than 4000 people who turned up to see them at the Opera House, spending extra time on the meet and greet.
Among those who had the chance to meet the couple was Harry favourite, 98yearold war widow Daphne Dunne who met the duchess for the first time.
‘‘She said she had heard all about me. She’s so beautiful,’’ Mrs Dunne told AAP.
The first engagement at Admiralty House was an opportunity to meet representatives of the 18 countries competing in the Invictus Games starting this weekend.
Harry, who served with the British Army for a decade, including two tours of duty in Afghanistan, set up the games after visiting the US Warrior Games in 2013.
But the real interest was in the new royal baby.
Baby Sussex received his or her first presents with a distinctly Australian flavour — baby ugg boots and a stuffed kangaroo with a joey in the pouch — from GovernorGeneral Sir Peter Cosgrove.
They then headed for Taronga Zoo, where they met two joey koalas named in their honour as a wedding gift from the people of NSW.
As part of the environment focus of their trip, they also opened the new Taronga Institute of Science and Learning, which Harry described as ‘‘absolutely amazing’’.