Prince Charles on Thursday comforted the parents of a New Zealand soldier killed in Afghanistan as he toured the rural North Island town of Feilding.
Charles, whose own son Prince Harry is serving as an army helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, held a private meeting with war veterans and then talked to Mark and Mary-Anne O’Donnell at the town’s war memorial.
The couple’s son Tim, 28, was killed during a Taliban attack on his patrol in Bamiyan province in 2010. His father Mark said Charles understood the fears of parents with family serving in the war-torn country.
“He knows for the sons there’s a risk, when Tim was there we thought he was in a safe area and he was killed, he probably hopes that Harry’s in a safe area,” O’Donnell told reporters.
“Basically he made the comments of another parent, which you can really relate to, so it was very special.”
Charles, who is in New Zealand with his wife Camilla on the last leg of a Pacific tour to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond anniversary, also shared his enthusiasm for organic produce with stallholders at the local farmers’ market.
Watched by a crowd of about 2,500, the largest turnout in New Zealand so far, he exchanged tips about sustainable farming and sampled local produce.
The tour, which has also included Papua New Guinea and Australia, wraps up on Friday with a visit to Christchurch, scene of a devastating earthquake last year which claimed 185 lives.
Charles comforts family of slain N.Zealand soldier
