Britain’s Prince William arrived in Auckland yesterday on his first official overseas trip on behalf of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, saying he wanted to maintain her high standards on tour.
However, the 27-year-old, who is second in line to the British throne, told reporters at the start of the five-day tour to New Zealand and Australia he had plenty of work to do to achieve that goal.
“I want to be able to do something good and keep the standards up that she has led the way with,” he said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Asked if he expected to undertake more tours on behalf of the Queen, he was keen to downplay expectations.
“We’ll wait and see, I wouldn’t get too carried away. I’ve still got a lot of training to do, and I need the training, believe me,” he said.
However, in a day dominated by a sporting theme, William said all the right things: “I just love seeing everyone and seeing more of New Zealand, so it’s great.”
As well as carrying out some official duties on behalf of the Queen in New Zealand, he will travel to Australia tomorrow for a more informal three-day visit.
The prince is on his third visit to New Zealand. The first was with his parents, Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, as a nine-month-old baby in 1983.
He returned in 2005, taking time out to follow the fortunes of the touring British and Irish Lions rugby team.
The prince was met yesterday at Auckland Airport by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and the Queen’s representative in New Zealand, Governor-General Anand Satyanand, in a low-key welcome without pomp or ceremony.
The tone was even more relaxed during the afternoon, when William dressed casually for a visit to the Eden Park rugby stadium, which is being redeveloped for next year’s Rugby World Cup.
Those accompanying him on the half-hour tour of the World Cup final venue included Key and All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.
Key praised the friendliness of the royal envoy.
“He’s a very nice young man, he’s very relaxed. He’s got a good sense of New Zealand, been here before and enjoyed it and I think he’s a great ambassador both for the royal family and for the United Kingdom,” Key said.
McCaw also praised the prince, saying there was a lot of respect for him in New Zealand.
“It can’t be easy being in the position he’s in, but he handles himself amazingly well. Underneath all that stuff he has to deal with, he’s just a genuine bloke you can have a yarn with,” he said.
William later went sailing in Auckland Harbour, taking the helm of a New Zealand America’s Cup yacht and last night was to be hosted at a traditional indigenous Maori hangi meal cooked in a pit in the ground.
The main official duty of his New Zealand visit will be carried out today when he opens New Zealand’s new Supreme Court building in Wellington after receiving a traditional Maori welcome.
Polls in recent years have shown that around 40 percent of New Zealanders support dropping the British monarch as head of state in favor of a republic.
Some supporters of cutting the royal ties are expected to gather to promote their cause at the court opening.
William is taking a short break from his military career, which reached a landmark on Friday when his father presented him with his flying badge after graduating from the Royal Air Force’s advanced helicopter training course.
Later this month, he is to start training to become a search and rescue pilot.
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