Prince William charmed sick children in New Zealand's capital Tuesday at the end of his first official visit representing his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The 27-year-old second in line to the throne flew out of Wellington Tuesday morning bound for Sydney for a three-day unofficial visit to Australia.
Prince William first visited the children's wards at Wellington Hospital, saying afterwards he had enjoyed the experience.
"Seeing kids smile means a lot to me," he told reporters.
Twelve-year-old Ethan Fagaloafa-Time, in hospital with a heart condition, said the prince was good company.
"I thought he'd be a bit up himself," he said. He added that the prince's accent was "pretty funny" and sounded "posh".
The prince proved a popular royal envoy on his visit to New Zealand, meeting All Blacks rugby players and sailing an America's Cup yacht in Auckland Harbour after arriving on Sunday.
After William opened a new Supreme Court Building in Wellington on Monday on behalf of the Queen -- New Zealand's head of state -- he went on a walkabout, shaking hands and chatting with some of up to 4,000 people gathered to see him.
A man working for a radio station breached security Monday night to sneak into a barbecue for William at Prime Minister John Key's official residence in Wellington, police said.
The 19-year-old man, who said he climbed over a fence into the residence as a prank, was stopped by police and questioned about half an hour before the prince arrived at the barbecue.
本周二,英國威廉王子在即將結(jié)束對新西蘭的訪問前,探望了該國首都的患病兒童,讓小朋友們?yōu)橹?ldquo;傾倒”。這是威廉王子代表其祖母女王伊麗莎白二世進(jìn)行的首次正式出訪。
這位27歲的英國王位第二繼承人于當(dāng)天上午離開惠靈頓,飛往悉尼,將對澳大利亞進(jìn)行為期三天的非正式訪問。
當(dāng)天,威廉王子首先探視了惠靈頓醫(yī)院的兒童病房,之后稱自己非常享受這次經(jīng)歷。
他在接受記者采訪時說:“看見孩子們的微笑對我來說很重要。”
12歲的心臟病患兒Ethan Fagaloafa-Time稱,王子是個好伙伴。
他說:“我覺得他自己也有點激動。”他還說,王子的口音“很有意思”,聽起來“高貴優(yōu)雅”。
代表英國王室的威廉王子在新西蘭訪問期間十分受歡迎。上周日抵達(dá)后,他會見了新西蘭國家橄欖球隊“全黑隊”的球員,還在奧克蘭港口乘坐“美洲杯”游艇出海。
本周一,威廉王子代表女王即新西蘭國家元首為惠靈頓新落成的最高法院大樓剪彩。剪彩儀式結(jié)束后,他走到等候的人群中與一些民眾握手交談。當(dāng)時現(xiàn)場共聚集了約四千名民眾。
據(jù)當(dāng)?shù)鼐浇榻B,周一晚,一名廣播電臺的工作人員繞過安檢,溜進(jìn)新西蘭總理約翰•基在惠靈頓的官邸為威廉王子舉辦的燒烤餐會。
這名19歲的男子溜入官邸后,被警方攔住,并接受了詢問,此時距威廉王子抵達(dá)還有約半小時的時間。這名男子稱自己翻過圍欄進(jìn)入官邸,并稱這只是個惡作劇。