AUSSIES HAND IT TO HARRY
Doling out high fives and pulling faces, he wows ’em Down Under!
HIS pristine white uniform was the epitome of buttoned- up respectability.
But that was Prince Harry’s only nod to formality yesterday as he began his month- long visit Down Under.
Indeed, the playful royal larked around like a true larrikin.
He laughed and joked with wellwishers. He offered handshakes and high fives. And he gurned like a good-un, making himself an instant hit with younger fans.
The prince spent 20 minutes chatting and posing for photographs for crowds in Canberra, where he made a beeline for a youngster with a banner saying ‘Redheads Rule’.
Ginger-haired Ethan Toscan, 12, who earned a high five from the royal after he spotted his home-made sign in the crowd, said: ‘He said it was awesome to be a redhead. It was a pleasure meeting the prince and being able to shake his hand and give him a high five. I’m over the moon.’
While Harry was clearly eager to please, he didn’t go as far as agreeing to a selfie with a teenage admirer. The prince, 30, smiled as he told the girl: ‘No, I hate selfies ... I know you’re young, but selfies are bad. Just take a normal photograph.’ This seems to be a view shared by his grand-
‘It’s awesome to
be a redhead’
mother, the Queen, who has said she finds it ‘strange’ to be greeted by a sea of smartphones at public engagements.
Hundreds waited in the rain to see Harry, who was wearing a wristband in support of his charity project the Invictus Games – a sports event for injured service personnel – featuring the slogan: ‘I am the master of my fate.’
On arrival at the Australian War Memorial, he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
It is likely to be his only public engagement during a four-week attachment to the Australian army, during which he is expected to train on helicopter simulators and join bush patrols in the North.
Harry is in the last few weeks of his service before leaving the Army in June.
He and Prince Charles will travel to Turkey later this month for the Anzac Day dawn service at Gallipoli, where Commonwealth forces including a joint Australian and New Zealand army suffered heavy casualties during the First World War.
There was a potentially awkward moment as Dr Brendan Nelson, director of the Australian War Memorial, asked if Harry had seen the film ‘Gallipoli’.
The 1981 movie, starring Mel Gibson, was criticised by some historians for depicting the British as ordering waves of Australian soldiers to their deaths.
Harry said he had not seen the film and was told: ‘It’s worth watching.’