Prince William arrived in New Zealand yesterday. He is representing the Queen. This morning he opened the new Supreme Court building which is in Wellington. This is the highest court in New Zealand. The Queen is now in her 80s and a long trip to New Zealand would be very tiring for her.

Prince William sailed on an America’s Cup yacht yesterday and visited Eden Park in Auckland where the final game of the Rugby World Cup will be held. He is a keen rugby player and will attend the World Cup in 2011. Last night, he attended a hangi at Government House, the home of the Governor General. A hangi is a traditional Maori way of cooking food in the ground, with hot stones. Tomorrow, Prince William will go to Australia.

Prince William will be king one day. His father is Prince Charles who is the oldest son of Queen Elizabeth. She is the Queen of Britain and the Commonwealth countries which include New Zealand. Some people want New Zealand to become a republic and have a president instead of a queen but both the Queen and Prince William are very popular.

Prince William graduated from St Andrews University with an MA in Geography. Then he trained as a soldier and served in Afghanistan. Now is in the Air Force, training to be a Search and Rescue pilot. He is now 27 years old. He is tall, good-looking like his mother Princess Diana, and relaxed when talking to people. He has had the same girlfriend, Kate Middleton, for five years.

Questions to think about

The Queen has mostly a ceremonial role. Do you think we still need a monarch?

When Diana first became a member of the royal family, she found life difficult. What do you think would be hard about being a member of the royal family?

What would be enjoyable?