Kensington Palace reveal all the details of Meghan and Harry's trip to New Zealand

Publish Date
Friday, 5 October 2018, 7:50AM
Photo / Getty Images

Photo / Getty Images

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will touch down in New Zealand in three weeks, sweeping through the capital and Auckland among other places as part of their royal visit.

Harry and Meghan will visit the Governor-General, Dame Patsy Reddy, to celebrate 125 years of women's suffrage, meet key figures working on mental health projects and do some charity work during their five-day visit, which has a focus on youth.

The itinerary for the visit was released by Kensington Palace and by the office of the Prime Minister early this morning.

The royal couple will arrive in New Zealand on Sunday, October 28 after attending the Invictus Games in Sydney and visiting Fiji and Tonga.

They will visit Wellington, Abel Tasman National Park, Auckland and Rotorua.

"The Duke and Duchess have a particular interest in youth, mental health and conservation, and they will have the opportunity to meet many New Zealanders working in those important areas, while also getting to enjoy some of our unique environment," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

"The Duke and Duchess will be travelling to New Zealand with a number of our Invictus athletes on the same plane and I look forward to meeting them when the land."

Upon arriving on Sunday the Duke and Duchess will be officially welcomed at Government House before heading to Pukeahu National War Memorial Park for a wreath-laying ceremony.

There they will also view the UK War Memorial and in the evening will attend a reception hosted by the Governor-General celebrating the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage in New Zealand.

On Monday they will further explore the capital, stopping in at Maranui Cafe where they will meet young people from a number of mental health projects operating in New Zealand, with a particular focus on supporting mental wellbeing among youth.

From Wellington, they will travel to Abel Tasman National Park, where they will be welcomed by local iwi and will embark on a bush walk to learn about the history of the park, environmental issues, and conservation projects.

The royal couple will share a beach barbeque with school children and local ambassadors before returning to the capital.

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That evening they will visit Courtenay Creative, where they will meet a number of young creatives demonstrating their skills in make-up, costume, and virtual reality.

On Tuesday it is off to the city of sails where they will firstly visit Redvale on the North Shore to dedicate an area of native bush to the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy.

After unveiling the plaque, the Duke and Duchess will join children in a gumboot throwing contest.

They will then visit Pillars, a charity supporting children who have a parent in prison through special mentoring schemes.

The Government will then gift $5000 to Pillars as a wedding present to the couple.

They would also have the opportunity to meet some of the young people who have directly benefited from Pillars funding.

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The public would have a chance to steal a look or even meet the royal couple during a public walk at the Viaduct Harbour, before they attend a reception hosted by the Prime Minister at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

The reception guests will be mostly young people who were making "significant" contributions to the wellbeing of their communities, Ardern said.

On October 31 the royals will travel to Rotorua, where they will visit Te Papaiouru Marae, for a formal pōwhiri and luncheon in their honour.

They will meet young local people there as well before they head to Rainbow Springs to learn more about the centre's kiwi breeding programme.

Rotorua locals will get a chance to meet the couple at Rotorua Government Gardens before the Duke and Duchess visit Redwoods Treewalk, where they will take on the tree walk, and meet groups of local mountain bikers.

They return to Auckland that evening, before leaving the country on November 1.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is reproduced here with permission. 

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