Captain Harry Wales: people’s prince, king of the redheads

As rain clouds shrouded the Australian War Memorial yesterday morning, Prince Harry shone like a beacon.

Harry salutes at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

As rain clouds shrouded the Australian War Memorial yesterday morning, Prince Harry shone like a beacon, grinning at the crowd in his white-jacketed dress uniform.

Shunning an umbrella and ­removing his white gloves, the Australian Defence Force’s celebrity recruit cut a no-nonsense figure, braving the Canberra drizzle to shake scores of hands and smile at countless iPhones.

Cheerful and generous to a point — he politely declined a young teen’s request for a selfie — the knockabout prince seemed to revel in the warmth of the 2000-strong crowd, gathered to eye the newest captain to join Australia’s ranks.

Among them was Ethan Toscan, a 12-year-old from the Canberra suburb of Bruce, who had spent three hours over the Easter holiday making a “Red Heads Rule!” sign, aimed at luring the world’s most powerful gingernut for a chat.

“I did it for all the redheads,” Ethan said, after scoring a handshake and a high five from the prince.

“It was a pleasure to shake Prince Harry’s hand.”

Emma Hogan, 28, had hoped to charm the high-profile bachelor in their fleeting encounter.

“I was hoping for a proposal, but that’s all right, he gave me a sympathy handshake,” she said.

Before formally reporting for duty at Duntroon Military College, the prince laid a wreath of ­native flowers on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, pausing as the bugle played the Last Post.

At the Gallipoli archway along the memorial’s cloisters, the prince placed a red poppy on the bronze plaques that mark Aus­tralia’s war dead.

He then toured the World War I and Afghanistan galleries, escorted by Chief of Defence Force Mark Binskin, Governor-General Peter Cosgrove and Returned and Services League president Rear-Admiral Ken Doolan. The fourth in line to the British throne — called Captain Wales during his four-week secondment with the ADF — ­accepted gifts from Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson to mark the occasion.

A small wooden box hewn from Lone Pine timber and containing commemorative Gallipoli medallions was the most precious, complemented with a signed copy of a Lee Kernaghan CD, the Spirit of the Anzacs, and a war memorial cap. “Incredible. Thank you,” said the prince.

Telling the story of the battle of Lone Pine, Dr Nelson inquired whether the prince had seen the 1981 movie Gallipoli. He had not.

“It’s worth watching,” Dr Nelson said. On reporting for official duty at Duntroon — where the prince will serve with ADF regiments in Perth, Sydney and Darwin — a message from his grandmother, the Queen, was also presented. “I know that Captain Wales will benefit greatly from spending time with the Australian Diggers and I thank you for welcoming him into your ranks,” the message from Buckingham Palace said.