Prince Harry tells New Zealand kids he calls Queen 'granny'

STEWART ISLAND (New Zealand) — Britain’s Prince Harry told schoolchildren today (May 11) on a remote New Zealand island that his favourite food is spaghetti Bolognese, he calls Queen Elizabeth II “granny” and he wishes he could speak other languages.

The Prince visited Halfmoon Bay School on the third day of a weeklong tour of the South Pacific nation and answered some tricky questions posed by the children. The primary school has 24 students and is the only one on Stewart Island, population 378.

The visit came the morning after Prince Harry deviated from his official programme by attending a quiz night at the island’s only bar, the South Sea Hotel. His team, called The Ginger Ninjas in a nod to his red hair, finished second to a team comprised of his own bodyguards, according to British newspaper The Telegraph.

At the school, Prince Harry sat in on an introductory German class. He apologised for not speaking the language, adding that he’d learned some French at school, which he’d mostly forgotten, and he’d love to learn Spanish.

In another class, one student asked what he called Queen Elizabeth.

“I call her Granny, but I refer to her as the Queen because I’m in the Army and she’s my boss,” he replied.

In answer to other questions, the 30-year-old prince said he doesn’t live in a castle and doesn’t even own a crown, his favourite food is spaghetti Bolognese, and he loves flying helicopters because “there’s only two of you in the office and no one else can bother you”.

Prince Harry plans to visit New Zealand through May 16 and is scheduled to visit Christchurch, Whanganui, Linton and Auckland. He arrived from Australia after a month-long embedment with the Australian army. AP