Prince Harry Visits Christchurch

Prince Harry has now arrived at the University of Canterbury campus to cheers from hundreds of students who braved thunderstorms and hail to catch a glimpse of royalty.

Rain and hail failed to deter the students' grins when Harry arrived about 3pm.

The prince was escorted into the Matariki building to speak directly with Student Volunteer Army members, including co-founder Sam Johnson.

Harry was invited to sit in a green wheelbarrow as the SVA members explained how the group was formed after Canterbury's devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.

He was guided through the post-quake work they now do, which includes fixing community gardens, repairing abandoned bikes for students to ride, volunteering, and mentoring students.

Prince Harry told told the SVA that "community comes first".

The prince spoke of how people were often more familiar with what was happening on social media sites like Facebook than what happened in their own communities.

"Everyone seems to be more connected with the world than with their own community," he said.

Harry heard from members of the SVA about its idea for a national service day - encouraging people around the country to give back to their communities.

"It's little things like that that make such a difference," he said.

Harry said he believed there were many former military people who still wanted to give back to their countries, so did so through volunteering, like the SVA did for Canterbury following its earthquake.

He believed the SVA model should be "replicated across the world".

Members of the SVA took the prince outside to the main quad amidst chants of "Harry, Harry" from the waiting crowd.

Harry was taken to various activity stations set up to show some of the initiatives the SVA was involved with in Christchurch after the city's earthquakes.

The displays included bicycle repairs, painting and vegetable gardening.

Harry shook hands and took photographs first with several people waiting patiently at the barricade, wearing ponchos due to the bad weather.

Prince Harry signed a red and black garden shed that was rescued from the residential red zone.

"Thanks for having me! Sorry about the weather! Best wishes. Harry."

The shed will be used as a mobile office for the SVA.

Prince Harry donned garden gloves and helped students plant flowers.

Students craned behind barriers with smartphones to snap shots of the young royal.

Earlier today, on his first visit to Christchurch, Prince Harry met with masses of excited royal fans lining the streets of Cashel Mall, shaking hands, gushing over babies and posing for pictures.

French national Marie Charlotte, 28, told Prince Harry that she took a day off her job as receptionist at a Christchurch hotel just to see him.

"He seemed very surprised," she said.

Her neighbour at the barrier was Christchurch woman Sue Merry.

She found it emotional that the prince - following his elder brother - had come to the post-quake city.

Ms Merry shook his hand and thanked him for coming, "It means everything to us," she said.

"But I'm not going to cry, I'll be on a buzz all day."

Marie Malcolm, 70, told the prince he was "just as gorgeous as his mother".

"He thanked me very much for that."

She told him to "keep having fun".

"He pointed at my eyes and said, 'I can see you like having fun too'," he told her

Earlier, the prince, accompanied by Prime Minister John Key, visited Quake City, an interactive exhibition that informs visitors about the 2011 quakes and their aftermath.

He hopped what's know as a Gap Filler Bike and asked: "What happens when I start pedalling?"

"This should be a thing at gyms," he said.

Prince Harry met Matt Gauldie, a Defence Force Artist, and spoke to him about a painting of one of the private soldiers. The painting represents the service people who helped the immediate cleanup of the Canterbury quakes - known as the earthquake patrol painting.

The prince said he was amazed by earthquake footage and photographs.

He asked Gauldie about his career: "Have you been all over the place?"

The trips have been "fantastic so far," he said.

The popular prince made his first visit to Christchurch this morning to gasps of delight from fans who spotted the tram arriving at Quake City.

Molly Carling, 14, Natalie O'Connell, 14, and Emily Hendry-Kerr, 15, were gushing at their first sight of Prince Harry.

"We made eye contact," said Emily

They thought the prince, in a navy blue suit and tie, was "looking good, real good".

"Oh my god, I can see him," one watcher excitedly said.

A big cheer erupted when got off the tram, along with lots of applause.

He was met by Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, and was flanked by Prime Minister John Key and Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee.

Later this afternoon Prince Harry will visit Canterbury University to meet members of the volunteer student army.

In a candid interview on Stewart Island yesterday, the Prince, fifth in line for the British throne, said it would be great to raise children and have "someone to share the pressure" with.

"Of course, I would love to have kids right now, but there's a process that one has to go through and ... tours like this are great fun," he told Sky News yesterday.

He said he was doing "all right" by himself, but left the door open for romance.

"It would be great to have someone else next to me to share the pressure," he said. "It will happen when it's going to happen."