Like Prince, boy had lost his mum
Prince Harry shared an intimate moment yesterday with an Auckland boy who waited with his Nan to meet him at the Viaduct Harbour.
Standing next to the barricade fence, the Duke of Sussex was making the rounds when the young boy passed a letter to him.
He took the letter and placed it safely inside his blazer, while the boy’s Nan revealed to the Prince her grandson had also lost his mother.
“He really looks up to you,” she explained, “because he lost his mother too.”
Visibly taken aback, Prince Harry placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder and asked him how old he was when his mother died.
“Nearly 1,” his Nan replied. “Nearly 1?” Prince Harry asked. “I can say don’t you worry about having just one parent.”
He took a moment to ask where the boy’s father was and it was revealed the young man is cared for by his Nan.
Prince Harry continued the conversation with the boy, asking where he was from and if he was going to grow up and become an All Black.
He emphasised that life would “always be all right” for the young man.
“I made it to 34 years old and life is great,” Harry said. “I have a beautiful wife, baby on the way, your life is going to be sorted, don’t you worry about that.”
Harry and wife Meghan were in Auckland throughout yesterday, with activities including a gumbootthrowing competition.
Later in the day, around 4pm, the royal couple arrived in central Auckland for a walkabout, where the Prince met the young man.
The pair finished with a reception at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, hosted by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.