Meghan Markle and Prince Harry battle it out in welly-wanging contest as whirlwind royal tour continues

The Duchess of Sussex narrowly beat her husband today in the royal couple’s first sporting clash during their marathon tour.

Harry and Meghan, who are in New Zealand on the final leg of their trip, went head-to-head in a game of “welly wanging”, which involves trying to hurl a wellington boot closest to a target.

The Duchess tossed a pink spotted boot further and more accurately than Harry when they played the game with schoolchildren near Auckland.

Harry and Meghan, who was wearing black skinny J Crew jeans and a Karen Walker blazer, each had two schoolchildren in their teams as they sparred off after planting trees and dedicating 20 hectares of forest to the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy scheme.

Harry and Meghan and their respective teams sparred off in Redvale, north of Auckland, New Zealand
Getty Images

Ryen Anderson, 10, on Meghan’s team, said: “Meghan was asking us how to throw and we said, ‘It doesn’t matter.’ She didn’t know she could throw that far and she surprised herself.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex playing a game of 'Welly Wanging' with the children from the 'Trees in Survival' group
Getty Images

Later in a speech the duke said: “Perhaps we should have a three-test series and see who comes out on top?”

The showdown came on the penultimate day of their trip to the Commonwealth countries of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.

AFP/Getty Images

During the couple’s last city walkabout before returning to Britain, one young fan managed to grab a rare royal selfie.

Max Henry, 10, attracted Meghan and Harry’s attention by waving a similar snap taken with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when they visited New Zealand in 2014. The Sussexes saw the picture and posed with Max, who explained: “I said, ‘Look who I met, it’s your brother,’ and he said, ‘Oh yeah.’”

Prince Harry helps Meghan as they arrive at a muddy North Shore Riding Club in Auckland
AFP/Getty Images

Later the couple joined the country’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern at a reception at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Speaking beforehand, Ms Ardern said New Zealand had “a real affinity” with the royal family, adding: “There’s a real connection between particularly William and Harry in recent years so it’s nice to have been able to host them in such close proximity.”

Harry and Meghan arrive to dedicate an area of native bush to the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy in Auckland
EPA

When asked whether the duke and duchess’s visit had changed views on New Zealand becoming a republic, Ms Ardern said: “It just really doesn’t come up as much.”

Harry and Meghan arrive in New Zealand

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Ms Ardern, who gave birth to daughter Neve in June, said she admired the duchess for her work while pregnant: “It’s just increased my respect for the role that she’s playing at such an often tiring time. I think she’s incredible.”

The duke offered greetings to the reception of young people in a few words of six languages: Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Niuean, Cook Islands and Maori.

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