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On Monday, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan went by Lyall Bay’s Maranui Café in Wellington, New Zealand. There they came across a handful of children who’d come by to meet them.
One small boy couldn’t shake his shyness as Meghan came by to greet him. The little boy started crying and the Duchess couldn’t help but comfort him.
Prince Harry and pregnant Duchess Meghan showed off their parental instincts during a visit to the Maranui Café in New Zealand. A group of children stood outside the café hoping to meet the Royal couple.
Meghan took the time to comfort Joe Young, 5, who broke down in tears ahead of meeting her. The little boy wiped away tears as the Duchess knelt down to comfort him.
For more on this story go to our Twitter account @amomama_usa. Young is a student at Houghton Valley School in Wellington, New Zealand.
He was lined up with other children outside the café. While other children shook hands with the Royal couple and introduced themselves, Young, who was the last in the line, could barely bring himself to look up from his wide-brimmed hat.
His teacher even stepped in to give him a much-needed comfort as Meghan spoke to the boy. She tried comforting him with a smile and touched him gently on the chest.
Harry came along, knelt down to the boy’s eye level and also tried to coerce him out of his shell. The prince patted the little boy and even tickled his stomach.
Houghton Bay School deputy Principal Monica Mercury tried to get Young to shake Harry's hand. She said:
“I was trying to get Harry to shake hands with him. Harry said: 'Don't worry about it — he's shy.'”
According to Michelle Pontifex, a teacher at the school, the meeting with the Royal’s wasn’t pre-planned. She had decided to walk them down to the café because she felt it was an opportunity that was too good to miss.
She stated:
“It's just an experience, it's not every day they get to experience something like this in their neighbourhood. What little girl and what little boy doesn't want to see a princess and a prince. It's almost fairytale like.”
Meghan also gifted the children with cakes from the café. Before meeting the small group of school children, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had met with the founders of Voices of Hope inside the café.
The organization is a nonprofit that focuses on breaking the stigma around mental illness. They also visited a beachside campsite where they met with a local kaumatua, a Maori elder.
On Sunday, in the same city, Meghan met a schoolgirl named Victoria who was among the crowd gathered outside the National War Memorial. Harry and Meghan were there to lay a wreath.
As the Duchess approached, Victoria couldn’t control her tears. Meghan was seen rubbing the teenager’s wrists and holding her hands as she tried to comfort her.
Victoria shared what she’d said to the Royal:
"I told her how beautiful she is and how inspiring I find her work with World Vision and how I'd love to be half the person she is.”
Meghan kindly told her to “breathe.” Harry noticed the interaction and came over to speak with Victoria and her friends.
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