THE FINAL HURRAH?
Makes draw for Canada-england rugby match
Prince Harry resurfaces
The past week has seen England pitted against Canada amid furious speculation about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s royal future.
So perhaps it was only fitting that what may turn out to be Prince Harry’s last royal engagement played witness to the two countries being drawn against each other in the Rugby League World Cup.
Thankfully, Harry was spared the embarrassment of having to choose between the two — although eyebrows were raised when the Sussex Royal Instagram account later released a video of his supposed last hurrah accompanied by a Stone Roses hit that includes the line “I’d like to leave the country for a month of Sundays.”
It later emerged the indie track is the song choice of the tournament.
The behind-the-scenes footage showed a grinning Harry making the crowd chortle as he helped with the draw and cracking jokes with guests, including Australian comedian Adam Hills, whom he praised for his “beautiful beard,” after watching schoolchildren play tag rugby on his 93-year-old grandmother’s lawn.
Facing the outside world for the first time since he and Meghan announced they were stepping back as senior royals, the 35-yearold was in surprisingly good spirits as he carried out the engagement at Buckingham Palace, his first — and possibly last — official royal duty since they dropped their bombshell announcement last Wednesday.
As he hosted the draws for the Rugby League World Cup 2021 with Olympic rowing champion Dame Katherine Grainger and 2003 rugby union World Cup winner Jason Robinson, he betrayed no sign of the turmoil which has engulfed the monarchy.
He told the Grade 6 children from St. Vincent de Paul Catholic primary school: “Look after the grass though, yeah? Otherwise I’ll get in trouble.”
Then, as he walked back into the palace for the draw, a reporter from one of the British tabloids Harry has accused of “bullying” behaviour, shouted: “How are the discussions going about your future?”
Ordinarily such an outburst would have prompted a glowering stare, but in this case he simply laughed out loud and walked on.
His unexpectedly good mood remained on display as he met representatives from the 21 nations taking part in the World Cup, and looked on as Grainger picked Canada to play England in the women’s competition.
As Harry joined Hills, he looked at the comic’s beard and said: “The beard is fantastic! I love the fact that it is manicured in the middle. It is so beautiful!
“I’ve never seen that. And I’ve seen some beards!”
Hills said he plans to shave it off when the U.K. leaves the EU on Jan. 31.
Asked about Harry’s frame of mind, Hills said: “I don’t know what it has been like for him this week, but … I have never seen him not in a good place. He is always friendly, always chatty.”
Robinson said it was “brilliant” to see Harry. “What happens between him and his good wife is nothing at all to do with me. What’s great about this is that it does not matter what is going on in the background, wherever he goes he still delivers. He is very respectful, very warm, very endearing.”
After a family summit at Sandringham on Monday, the Queen announced there would be a “transition period” during which the couple would divide their time between Britain and Canada.