Royal tour 2018: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry spend day in Tonga ahead of Sydney return
THE Duchess of Sussex turned heads in stunning designer gown at the Australian Geographic awards in Sydney last night, where guests were warned about how to behave near the royals.
THE Duchess of Sussex turned heads at the Australian Geographic Society awards in Sydney last night, wearing a stunning gown by Oscar de la Renta.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were greeted with a huge round of applause as they entered the ballroom of Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel just after 8.15pm.
The Duchess, 37, wore the $6,000 black-and-white Oscar de la Renta tulle gown for the gala event, while the Duke sported a blue suit with a pastel blue-coloured tie.
Polar explorers Eric Philips and Tim Jarvis were seated at the table with the Duke and Duchess.
Mr Philips was a guide who helped Harry and wounded soldiers from Australia, the United States, Canada and Britain ski to the South Pole in 2013.
He also guided a 14-year-old Jade Hameister and herdad in 2016 on their 650km record-breaking journey to the South Pole, earning her the Australian Geographic Society’s Young Adventurer of the Year Award that year.
The Melbourne teenager clinched the same award again tonight in recognition of her 585km, 37-day journey form the Amundsen Coast to the South Pole in January this year.
By completing the journey she became the youngest person and first Australian woman to ski from the coast to the South Pole unsupported and unassisted to complete the journey, and the first woman to set a new route through the Transantarctic mountain range.
Jade, now 16, was presented her award by Prince Harry.
“He’s becoming an icon for young people … it’s nice tohave someone like that to look up to,” she told AAP before the awards.
Sydney teenager Sophia Skarparis, who started a petition to ban plastic bags in NSW in February, received the society’s Young Conservationist of the Year award from Meghan.
“Plastic bags need to be banned now. It can’t wait. Now I can spread my message to everyone including Prince Harry and Meghan,” she told AAP before the awards.
Prince Harry presented his grandmother the Queen with an special award for outstanding contribution to global conservation for the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy project.
The special award has been created especially for the Queen and Prince Harry accepted it on her behalf tonight.
The royal couple were delayed by about an hour after flying in from Tonga after a four-day visit to the Pacific nation and Fiji.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s charter jet back to Australia had to abort landing upon approach at Sydney Airport and fly back around because of another aircraft on the runway.
The flight landed safely a few minutes later.
Security was tight, with each of the 400 guests undergoing security checks well in advance of Harry and Meghan’s much anticipated arrival.
As she prepared to deliver a traditional indigenous welcome for the guests, Aboriginal elder Aunty Anne Weldon quipped: “I’ve never had to go through a scanner to do a welcome to country before!”
MC for the night was broadcaster Ray Martin who gently reminded the audience not to take any photos of the royals.
“Please don’t try and approach them, they’re not the Kardashians,” he said, prompting much laughter.
“We don’t want to be bogans, they’re here for a relaxed evening themselves.”
The couple will head out to the final day of the Invictus Games on Saturday.
MEGHAN REDUCED TO LAUGHING TEARS
Earlier, the Duchess was reduced to laughing tears as her and Prince Harry were serenaded with a song about mosquitoes at a school in Tonga.
The Tupou College Boys’ choir performed the strange piece to the royal couple, which also incorporated swatting dance moves and buzzing noises — which they say was an attempt to scare off mozzies.
Tonga has a moderate risk of the Zika virus, which can be contracted through mosquitoes and is harmful to unborn babies.
The Duke and Duchess dedicated two forest reserves at the school’s on-site forest to the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy — a special protection afforded to such areas.
Both were originally due to walk through the forest but only Harry ventured inside during the 22-hour visit.
Meghan Markle, 37, and Prince Harry, 34, have been treated like rock stars in the tiny Pacific Kingdom, further showcasing their popularity throughout their 16-day inaugural Commonwealth tour.
In a speech at the Tupou College Forestry, Tonga, the Duke said conserving forests was a simple but effective way to restore and respect the environment.
“My wife and I are so pleased to be here today to mark the dedication of not one but two forest areas to The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy initiative, which started in 2015 in honour of my grandmother’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth,” Prince Harry said.
He said there were 42 out of the 53 Commonwealth countries signed up to the initiative and “we hope that the other(s) will join as soon as possible”.
“Tonga is leading by example and understands deeply the impact of environmental changes because they directly affect these islands,” he said.
“Planting trees and conserving forests helps us in so many ways. It is a simple but effective way to restore and repair our environment, clean the air, protect habitat and enhance our health and wellbeing.
“We are so very grateful to you for this contribution of the Toloa Forest Reserve and the Eua National Park Forest Reserve.”
On a balmy overcast Tongan day, the couple began their bumper schedule by cramming in several events in the capital Nuku’alofa.
They began their day by meeting privately for 25 minutes with Prime Minister Samiuela Akilisi Pohiva and members of his cabinet.
They were greeted by more than 50 public servants from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning and some of their children
One family had a sign “free hugs” but a smiling Duchess politely declined the request.
The Duchess, who is understood to be 14 weeks pregnant with the couple’s first child, was wearing a green and white striped full length Martin Grant dress while her husband of five months wore a light blue suit.
The pair then attended an exhibition with the Princess Angelika at the adjacent Fa’onelua Centre, celebrating Tongan handicrafts and products, including traditional mats and “tapa” cloth.
At the convention centre walkabout of handicrafts the pair wore the traditional ta’ovala — a mat wrapped around their waist.
Among the exhibition was a photographic display of previous royal visits and trips to London by the Kingdom of Tonga’s Kings and Queens. It also highlighted war and peacekeeping missions.
As they met local Tongan traders and craftsmen, thousands of locals crammed every vantage point and lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the high profile couple.
A band of singers also welcomed them as traditional mats were blessed.
They then visited Tupou College, which is the oldest secondary school in the Pacific, founded by a British missionary in 1866.
DUCHESS MAKES RARE FAUX PAS
The pair arrived in Tonga on Thursday after farewelling a “beautiful” Fiji with “special memories” following a romantic night on an exclusive tropical island during their bumper Down Under tour.
The Duchess committed a rare fashion blunder when she arrived in the Kingdom of Tonga for the royal tour after a rushed dress change mid-air.
She strolled off a 90-minute Qantas chartered flight wearing a flash red Self Portrait dress — coloured for the national flag — but made a rare fashion faux pas as the clothing tag was visible underneath.
Upon landing in Tonga, the couple were welcomed by Princess Angelika Latufuipeka.
Children, who had been given the day off school, lined the royal route as they made their way from the airport.
After a private audience with King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u, they were guests of honour at a formal black tie reception last night and state dinner.
The Duchess stunned with a white, full length Theia Couture dress, Aquazzura shoes, Birks earrings, a Givenchy clutch and a ring from the collection of her husband’s mother, the late Princess Diana.
At the dinner at Consular House in the capital Nuku’alofa, they met dignitaries including Justice Charles Cato, a New Zealand judge, and his Russian wife, Miriam.
Mrs Cato said: “I asked, how does she feel? She (the Duchess) responded ‘Very well, thank you.’ I said ‘no visible signs yet.”
The Duchess then looked down at the front of her dress and laughed in agreement, she said.
Mrs Cato, 41, added: “As a doctor, I was a bit concerned about her taking all these long trips. I’m a mother of two. I know how it feels.
“I asked her to take care of herself. She promised to do so.”
In his speech the Duke said: “Tongan hospitality is world renowned; your islands are stunningly beautiful offering tourists rugged coastlines, humpback whales and coral reefs.
“Tonga’s sporting prowess is legendary; you are formidable on the rugby pitch, and you were the first Pacific island nation to win a medal at the Olympics! Is there no end to your talents?
“For a small population you have a very large presence on the world stage — a product of your talent and drive.”
The royal couple flew on Wednesday night to the “stunning” Vatuvara Private Island resort on Kaibu, the world’s most expensive island once valued at $106 million.
Just hours after the Duchess was caught up in a security scare, forcing her Suva market visit to be cut short, the pair flew by seaplane to the lush 324ha, three villa resort, where prices start from $7600 a night.
While Kensington Palace declined to comment, Fiji’s Tourism Minister Fiayaz Koya said the area, east of the main island, was “beautiful and stunning”.
