The Duke and Duchess arrived in Fiji on October 23 and Prince Harry got into the local spirit as he drank the local brew kava.
Harry and Meghan sat on a stage as he was given the whale’s tooth, a sign of wealth, in the vakasobu, before he was given kava, a drink made from a mashed plant root in the yaqona vakaturaga.
Harry, his medals catching the floodlights, looked on as the kava was made with the root wrung out and a bowl passed to the duke on the stage. He accepted the bowl and held it to his lips as the crowd cheered.
Rain began to fall again as the lovo, a presentation of food of a roast pig and a basket of dalo, a root vegetable like a potato, was offered to the duke.
He told the crowd: “Bula venaka! The duchess and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible during the next two days and celebrating the links and close friendship between Fiji and the United Kingdom.”
He signed off “Venaka”, or thank you, to cheers and laughter.
To close the ceremony, the couple watched a meke, a traditional dance with Harry leaning forward in his seat.
Dozens of people from the village of Nakelo took to the Albert Park turf to perform for the Duke and Duchess. The area is known for its strong links to the armed forces.
The Duke of Sussex was offered roast pig, a whale’s tooth and traditional drink kava as he was officially welcomed to Fiji with his wife, the Duchess.
The ceremony, under cloudy skies in Suva’s Albert Park, mirrored one attended by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in 1953.
Meghan waved to the crowd in Albert Park from the motorcade as the couple arrived to cheers for the Veirqaraqarvi Vakavanua, where they were greeted by chiefs in a tradition known as the tama.
The crowd, slightly damp from the rain shower or “a bit of blessing” as the master of ceremonies put it, cheered and waved Union Jacks and Fijian flags as the couple arrived.
Hundreds maintained reverential silence – with only the occasional burst of children chatting or a nearby clock chiming – heard over the rhythmic drums and chanting of the ceremony.
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