Harry given grilling by youngsters

Pupils at Halfmoon Bay school entertain Prince Harry. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.
Pupils at Halfmoon Bay school entertain Prince Harry. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.
The harsh glare of the media was on Prince Harry yesterday, and the tough questions came one after the other.

''Do you like hunting?''

''Do you have to go to war?''

''What is your favourite food?''

However, the inquisitors firing this barrage of difficult questions were not members of the media.

Instead, it was the children of Stewart Island's Halfmoon Bay School, who hosted the prince yesterday morning.

The years 1 to 8 children managed admirably to give speeches, play music and generally entertain and melt hearts in front of the prince and his entourage, and the local, national and international media crammed into a tiny school room.

Prince Harry presented Tyler Dawson (8) his ''winning hoody'' for winning the 100m race at the Southland primary schools athletics, before the questioning began.

''What is your favourite thing about flying helicopters?'' Angus Kenny (12) asked him.

Harry responded having a fast, flying office was ''quite cool''.

''Why is your granddad not the king, even though he is married to the Queen?'' George Conner (11) asked.

That was because he liked a supporting role, the prince said.

''I think he would much prefer to support her [the Queen].

''Is that a good enough answer?''

''What do you call your grandmother?'' asked Nate Lachmann (9)''I call her Granny, but most of the time I refer to her as the Queen,'' Harry told the children.

He responded with an ''Oh dear'' when asked what animals he liked to hunt, but said hunting animals where it saved other animals was ''all the better''.

He told the children that as a member of the armed services, he did have to go to war, and his favourite food was spaghetti bolognese.

Prince Harry left the island by helicopter shortly after, leaving islanders and local politicians more than happy with the visit.

Southland Mayor Gary Tong said there were plenty of benefits to Stewart Island and the Southland district.

The national and international media coverage was a boon for the area, and attracting more visitors ''the key''.

South Sea Hotel publican Helen Cave, who hosted the prince at her establishment at the hotel's quiz night on Sunday, said the busy weekend continued what had been a busy summer season.

Having police combing her hotel for bombs had been ''quite interesting'', considering high security was not usually a feature of Stewart Island.

The hotel did get some big names ''by our standards'', but ''we usually pretend we don't recognise them''.

That policy had not been an option for Prince Harry.

david.loughrey@odt.co.nz

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