Charles and Camilla’s Visit to New Zealand, Days Three and Four

On their third day in New Zealand, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were originally scheduled to have a private day, but ended up attending the parade held in Wellington in honour of the victorious All Blacks.

Charles and Camilla meet with the World Cup winning rugby team before they departed the Parliament building in New Zealand’s capital for the parade, and the Prince received rapturous cheers and laughter when he addressed the crowd saying, “We’ve just travelled, what, 11,683 miles (18,800km), to come here to congratulate the best rugby team in the world. But, ladies and gentlemen, what the hell am I going to say to the Aussies next week?” (Australia lost to New Zealand in the final).

Today the couple travelled to the South Island where they visited the city of Nelson, greeting locals at the Nelson Market and receiving a key to the city. Afterwards it was separate engagements for Charles and Camilla, with Charles visiting the Cawthron Institute where he was told about how specialists safeguard the marine and freshwater environment, while Camilla visited the World of WearableArt Museum.

They paired up a short time later at the Mahana Estates winery where they were given a tour and had the chance to taste some of the locally made wines. The Prince and the Duchess also met with local wine, cheese and seafood producers, with Prince Charles apparently quite interested in New Zealand’s salmon farming.

An afternoon apart was then on the agenda – Charles went to Westport and Camilla returned to Wellington. The Prince was greeted by a packed-out town centre, where he did a walkabout speaking with local schoolchildren before visiting the West Coast Brewery where he taste-tested some of the products. He had also visited the Exercise Southern Katipo, a military simulation exercise involving military units from eight countries, including the UK.

Meanwhile, the Duchess got to play with some puppies during her visit to the Wellington SPCA. She also paid tribute to her late Jack Russel, Freddie, by placing a leaf on the SPCA’s tree of remembrance. It was then to the Arohata Women’s Prison, where Camilla spent time with some of the inmates, listening to poetry they had written and received a quilt they had made especially for her.

The Duchess with Arohata Prison inmates, and the wonderful quilt they made her (Press Association) @ClarenceHouse pic.twitter.com/F6sgE2ZuVI

— Governor-General NZ (@GovGeneralNZ) November 7, 2015

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Animals, Environment, Military, New Zealand, Official Visit, Sport, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Prince of Wales.