The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will share stories with new mums and dads at a parenting group.
And the Prince’s playmates will include eight-month-old Isabella and her gay dads Jared and Ryan Mullen.
The Cambridges arrived in a windswept Wellington on Monday and baby George stole the show.
After their 30-hour flight, the family then spent yesterday relaxing in the city at the Governor General’s house, which had velvet thrones dotted around its ballroom especially for the visit.
Today William, 31, and Kate, 32, will take George for a playdate at the Plunket parent’s group. As well as it being the tot’s first official engagement, it is also thought to be the first time the young royal has played with a group of infants.
Leading the session will be Jared, from Oregon, USA, and Ryan, from Australia.
They were chosen to represent the growing numbers of same-sex couples in New Zealand.
CHILD’S PLAY: Jared and Ryan at the group [IG] Tristine Clark, New Zealand president of Plunket, said: “The parents are a spread of all communities in New Zealand, including Maoris, Samoans, people of Chinese descent and gay couples.“This is a very multi-cultural country and we wanted the Duke and Duchess to meet people from all backgrounds”Tristine Clark
“This is a very multi-cultural country and we wanted the Duke and Duchess to meet people from all backgrounds.”
Reports suggest the Duke and Duchess did not specifically ask to meet a gay couple and left the choice of parents entirely down to the organisation.
All of the babies were born within a few weeks of George’s birthday, July 22, 2013.
The Cambridges will also meet single mum Tui Funaki, 30, and her son Levi.
Ahead of the party, the former hotel chef joked about the royal baby’s size and said: “They’re both big boys!”
With two weeks left of their 19-day tour, they have sparked Kiwi fever in the UK.
Travelsupermarket.com has reported a 153% increased in searches for New Zealand holiday deals.
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