Prince William brings comfort to Grantham victims of flood

PRINCE William lifted the gloom of a wet and bleak day for the people of flood-devastated Grantham west of Brisbane today.

Prince William in Grantham

PRINCE William lifted the gloom of a wet and bleak day for the people of flood-devastated Grantham west of Brisbane today, hugging one grieving woman and comforting others on the latest whistlestop in his tour of Queensland disaster areas.

More than 2000 locals braved rain squalls and mud underfoot to see the future King.

He met privately with families of those who had died when an "inland" tsunami crashed into the Lockyer Valley town on January 10, destroying dozens of homes. Many of the 35 known dead from the flash floods were from Grantham.

Prince William clasped outstretched hands and posed for pictures with members of the wet but happy throng. When one woman, whose house had been flooded to the eaves, broke down, he hugged her. Prince William asked Warren Kimlin, 56, how he had got along. The Grantham man said he was lucky - the water had only come up to the floorboards of the family home.

The verdict?

"He is a really genuine person," Mr Kimlin said of the prince.

He will round out the day with appearances at a country festival in Toowoomba, and a $500-a-head flood relief fundraiser in Brisbane.

The prince had earlier visited Ipswich, where Miranda Spies, a straight-talking resident who battled the floods and then the insurance companies, ignored protocol to ask him a question.

“Can you do anything about those insurance companies?” she asked as Prince William walked down the line in the gym at West Moreton Anglican College.

“I'm sorry, I can't do that,” he smiled back, shaking hands.

“Well at least I made him aware of it,” she said as the prince circulated among the crowd of about 500 consisting of flood victims, SES members who had worked for days without sleep during the floods, and local civic leaders.

Students from the college presented William with one of its cricket caps, with the intention of making him permanent 12th man.

Additional reporting: Andrew Fraser