Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, left New Zealand with a spring in their step. On the final day of their busy two week tour, the couple showed off their moves by dancing with two lucky members of the public.
After touching down in the city of Christchurch earlier in the day, the royal couple headed to the 150th Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Show where they met with local residents, shopkeepers, students, volunteers and local dance groups who turned out to greet them. Amongst the supporters was plucky Lisa Shannon, who asked the Prince for a rock and roll dance.
"If you don't ask you don't get" said Lisa, who added "I'm still buzzing." Charles' smooth moves impressed the bubbly Kiwi, who described him as a "beautiful dancer" and the said the jig had "completed her destiny." The Prince of Wales had followed the lead of his wife, who was already twirling around with her own dance partner, university student Sam Johnson.
The 65-year-old no doubt enjoyed her whirl round – the Duchess is a known fan of the hit BBC show Strictly Come Dancing and has previously taken the floor with judge Craig Revel Horwood. Camilla was heard giving her husband a little encouragement to join in, saying "come on darling, you've got to dance too."
The royal couple were in the South Island city to see how it is recovering from the devastating 2011 earthquakes that left much of the area destroyed. In response to the loss of many of Christchurch's dance studios, a charity called Gap Filler made the Dance-O-Mat – a coin-operated dance floor created from a converted washing machine. After paying a small fee members of the public can plug in their mp3 players and dance for 30 minutes.
On a more sombre note, Charles and Camilla paid their respects to those affected by presenting a letter of condolance to Mayor Bob Parker. The note is to be included in a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee time capsule which will be buried at the clock tower on Victoria Street.
The royal duo, who embarked on a whistlestop tour of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand, have proved a hit with the locals they met along the way. During their last stop in Christchurch, Camilla stopped at a shoe shop to do a spot of shopping, taking time to speak to sales assistant Emily Stevens. The 22-year-old was starstruck when the Duchess bought a pair of black wedges saying: "We thought she would just walk along. It was surreal when she came in."
After a hectic two weeks that have involved horse racing, netball and birthday celebrations, Charles and Camilla are due back in the UK on Friday. But before they jetted off the couple were sure to pick up a bottle of New Zealand's 'Lone Goat' wine they had particularly enjoyed during the successful trip.
