Duke and Duchess of Sussex told to 'chill out' during tour of New Zealand

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were asked to “chill out” on Monday and enjoy the hospitality of the Maori people of Abel Tasman, as Prince Harry spoke of his joy at bringing their “little bump” to visit.

The Duke and Duchess, who spent around an hour and a half at the spectacular coast on New Zealand’s South Island, were welcomed by songs, prayers, countless hongis and a banquet of food from their new friends.

Told to take time out from their tour to relax, they took a short stroll on the beach front accompanied by a ranger to tell them about conservation projects to protect the Abel Tasman National Park.

The Duke, speaking after being formally welcomed by the Manawhenua ki Mohua people, shared his excitement about visiting with a new baby on board.

“The weather forecast was a lot worse than this,” Harry said to laughter, as guests sat under a tent roof for speeches. “This rain is a blessing on all of us.

“From myself and my wife and our little bump, we are so grateful to be here. We bring blessings from my grandmother the Queen and our family.

“We are so grateful for your hospitality and the work you do to look after this beautiful place.”

The Duchess, who is expecting her first child in the spring, was given a seat of honour for the ceremony in line with Maori tradition, placed in the front row but several inches back from her husband and other men on either side of her.

The arrangement is a sign of protection for women, particularly those who are pregnant, in the initial meeting between iwi, the tribe, and new visitors.

Traditionally the meeting could be a moment of “war” and is an opportunity to air grievances, with Barney Thomas, chief elder, explaining: “We never ever put our women in that space.

“We want to be inclusive but protective, and we would not want to put our women - especially the Duchess because she’s expecting - at risk.”

The meeting, of course, went without a hitch, with warm wishes from both hosts and visitors, a welcoming song and, finally, food.

The couple travelled to Abel Tasman by helicopter, with a 45 minute journey over the spectacular hills, craggy valleys, lush forests and clear blue waters of New Zealand.

In drizzling rain, they were escorted into a grass clearing by a group of women, accompanied by the melodic sound of a conch shell, before a karanga was called.

The call, between two groups of women, saw the Duke and Duchess walk slowly towards the tent, under an umbrella, before being welcomed with the hongi.

The couple and their entourage made their way along a line of around 20 hosts, shaking each by the hand and performing the gentle “nose kiss”.

They were then invited to sit on two rows of plastic seats opposite the iwi, with their all-female royal household staff in the back row and Duke, Duchess and their two male translators in the front.

Mr Thomas gave a speech of welcome in te reo, a Maori language, followed by a waiata, a song, from the group.

“We’ve been watching your tour and we know you don’t get much time off,” Mr Thomas joked. “I wouldn’t want to be a royal.

“So we don’t want to put any demands on you. We want you to enjoy yourself. All we want you to do is relax.”

He said afterwards: “They have had a hectic tour and we really want them to come here and chill out with us with no pressure and no stress. They are such down to earth people, and we want them to be part of the family.

“I was saying there are two of you and there will be three of you soon.”

Their hosts had originally intended to give them a gift of whalebone necklaces, but were not able to thanks to strict import and export laws.

Instead, artist Robin Slow gave them a large canvas painting of three tui birds, representing the Duke, Duchess and their baby.

After the welcome ceremony was complete, the Duke and Duchess took a stroll along the beach front, under an umbrella.

Andrew Lamason, a department of conservation ranger, accompanied them to explain the conservation efforts at the port, saying afterward of Prince Harry: “His depth of knowledge was astonishing. I thought I would be doing most of the talking, but he really knew his stuff.”

Then, time for a barbecue. Welcomed back into the tent by song, the Duchess said a sincere “thank you” before spotting a table laden with home-cooked food and exclaiming over “so many brownies”.

Accepting a bite of the cookies and brownies, the Duke and Duchess then made their way around a small circle of school children to hear about their projects to look after the park.

As the Duke quizzed them about where they lived, the Duchess complimented their innovative work to protect sand dunes.

Thomas Sehwarzenbach, 14, said: “It was really nice talking to them. They were pleased to hear about our projects and that we’re interested in the environment.”

Laden with gifts, including a large colourful tote bag and a knitted blanket fit for a newborn baby, the Duke and Duchess said farewell with another line of hongis before walking back to their RNZAF NH-90 helicopter hand in hand to return to Wellington.

Duchess warns of social media

Earlier, the Duchess of Sussex opened up about the pressures of social media during a conversation with mental health advocates in New Zealand.

During a visit to a beachside cafe in Wellington, Meghan met people supporting others in the area of mental health about the impact that unrealistic images on the likes of Instagram and Twitter can have on youth.

“Young people find it so difficult,” she said during a conversation with staff and volunteers from Live For Tomorrow, an online youth initiative focused on reaching millennials with messages of hope and positive change. “You see photos on social media and you don’t know whether she’s born with it or maybe it’s a filter.

“Your judgement of your sense of self worth becomes really skewed when it’s all based on likes.”

The Duke added: “Issues stemming from social media and gaming are a major problem for young people in the UK — and globally. Fingers are often pointed at the parents but that’s not always fair as they too need to be educated about these things.”

Harry and Meghan - who are both strong advocates for mental health awareness - were at Wellington’s Maranui Cafe on Monday to learn about initiatives and programmes supporting mental wellbeing in New Zealand, with a focus on youth.

They arrived just after 10am and were escorted in by Lucia Kennedy, founder of Luminary Legacies, which honours people who have impacted positively on individuals, families and communities. “It smells so great in here,” Harry said after walking past the cafe’s colourful cake counter.

Before sitting at their first table, the couple were offered drinks by the cafe’s co-owner Bronwyn Kelly, with the Duke asking for water, the Duchess having a “milk tea”.

At the first table the couple met Jazz Thornton and Gen Mora from Voices of Hope.

“We’ve both had battles with mental health of our own and so we wanted to create a platform where people can share stories of hope,” Thornton said of their website, which contains videos and personal blogs which promotes mental wellbeing, empowerment and recovery.

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