Royal visit, day two: Prince Charles gifted native trees by PM, greets the public

Tuesday, 19 November 2019

Prince Charles and Camilla visited Government House on day two of their 2019 New Zealand tour.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall met with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and members of the public on day two of their six-day visit to New Zealand.

The couple were given a formal Māori welcome at Auckland's Government House on Tuesday morning, in the presence of the PM and her fiancé Clarke Gayford.

The prince was smiling during the karanga (call of welcome) but took a more serious tone as the New Zealand Armed Forces began the wero (challenge), where the warrior placed a dart on the ground for the prince to pick up.

The royal pair posed for a photo with Emirates Team New Zealand and the Americas Cup.

He shook hands with Ardern and thanked her for taking the time to meet with him given she had other duties, after joking to reporters that he hoped they'd been offered a cup of tea.

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Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were given a traditional Māori welcome by the New Zealand Armed Forces at Government House.

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Prime Minister and Prince Charles had a 'fantastic exchange' at Government House, where they discussed environmental issues.

* Royal tour, day one: Prince Charles and Camilla in Auckland**

After, Ardern would not disclose what she and Prince Charles had spoken about, but said he was 'very informed' about New Zealand's current affairs and gifted him 10 native trees to be planted in his honour.

Camilla met with domestic violence organisation Shine and commended them for their work.

'We had a fantastic exchange about issues particularly pertaining to the environment. He's always been interested in those areas, [he's] well ahead of his time with his knowledge around climate change.'

Prince Charles also met with National Party leader Simon Bridges, who reportedly gifted him a pot of honey.

The Duchess of Cornwall then took part in a roundtable discussion organised by one of the country's largest domestic violence organisations, Shine.

She commended its efforts to change society for the better and reflected on the blight of family violence in the United Kingdom.

'I actually sat down and listened to some of [the victims'] stories and I was so horrified. It was really shocking,' she said of her involvement with similar organisations back home.

Later, she and Prince Charles visited Sea Cleaners, an organisation working to preserve New Zealand's coastline, and boarded one of its vessels at the Auckland Marina for a trip to Viaduct Harbour, where they met with the public.

A few hundred people were eagerly waiting their arrival, a stark contrast to the thousands who gathered at the same spot this time in 2018 to see Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.

The royal pair greeted a few members of the public, before chatting with young pupils from Wesley Intermediate School and joining Team Emirates for a photo with the America's Cup.

Quinny Paaka said the one-hour wait for the royals was worthwhile as she and Prince Charles shared a hongi.

The royal couple will visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in Northland on Wednesday, before heading south to Kaikōura and Christchurch.