Weather can’t put a dampener on occasion
It was a day spent huddling under umbrellas for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with persistent rain a prevailing feature on day two of the royal visit.
The pair took it in their stride, looking quite at home all cosied up as they took in coastal Wellington and the beauty of the Abel Tasman area.
They began their day at Wellington beachside cafe Maranui for a warming cup of tea and a chat with mental health workers and advocates, including Genevieve Mora, co-founder of Voices Of Hope.
Mora had struggled with her own mental illness, as has cofounder Jazz Thornton. They hoped to break down the stigma surrounding mental illness through their charity.
‘‘[Harry] was very interested, they both asked a lot of questions. I talked about my own personal experience, about feeling a lot of shame, and he was really interested to understand why I felt so ashamed about it.’’
In a speech at the closing of the Invictus Games in Sydney last Saturday, Prince Harry mentioned his own struggles.
‘‘I’ve been there, you’ve been there, and we now need to reach out to those who can never even imagine themselves in that place,’’ he said.
Prior to departing the cafe, the duke and duchess stopped to greet a select group of Houghton Valley School children. At the end of the line, 5-year-old Joe Young was overcome with emotion when the duchess approached him.
Meghan Markle kneeled down to his level and tried to comfort him but deputy principal Monica Mercury said it was a bit much excitement for the youngster.
‘‘I was trying to get Harry to shake hands with him. Harry said, ‘don’t worry about it – he’s shy’.’’
After a wave to the throngs of fans gathered, the pair were whisked away to Abel Tasman National Park.