The Duke and Duchess of Sussex couldn’t keep the smiles from their faces as they spent time meeting children in Dublin.
The newlyweds looked perfectly at ease joking and teasing the young sports fans during a visit to Croke Part on their whistle-stop tour of the Irish capital on Wednesday.
Three-year-old Walter Cullen was snapped reaching for Meghan’s hair while another young supporter tugged on Harry’s beard – much to the prince’s delight.
The Duke of Sussex, 33, who enjoys a close relationship with his niece and nephews, didn’t miss a beat and smiled happily back at the cheeky youngster.
Look at me! Three-year-old Walter Kieran didn’t want to miss his chance to meet Meghan
Gotcha! The duchess spun around and playfully grabbed hold of the little boy’s hand
Playful: Meghan and Walter enjoyed a fun-filled moment as Harry looked on smiling
Has someone been naughty? Adorable Walter cheekily covered his mouth with his hand
Harry followed in his footsteps of his grandmother the Queen by making the symbolic visit to Croke Park.
The stadium is steeped in history and witnessed one of the most infamous incidents of Ireland’s War of Independence when British soldiers opened fire on a crowd of spectators in 1920, killing 14 people.
Today the Duke and Duchess watched dozens of children playing Gaelic football and hurling.
They walked hand-in-hand around the sprawling pitch as Gaelic Athletic Association representatives talked the couple through the rules of Gaelic games.
Playtime! The Duke of Sussex, 33, who enjoys a close relationship with his niece and nephews, didn’t miss a beat and smiled happily back at the cheeky youngster as he tugged on his beard
Come here! Harry pretended to grimace as the curious young boy felt his facial hair
Prince charming: Harry shook hands with a girl taking part in a Gaelic games demonstration
Special gift: Prince Harry was presented with a hurley by Nathan Charney Kiely
Engaged: Harry looked in his element as he knelt down to speak to the young boy
They spoke to young children about their involvement in sport and what it meant to them playing at Croke Park.
Earlier, Harry’s mind was on another sport when he gave England a boost ahead of their crucial World Cup match, declaring football was coming home as he met Ireland’s president.
The duke was asked by a reporter if ‘football was coming home’ – the chant from the hugely popular Three Lions anthem.
As Harry and Meghan posed for a picture with President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina, the duke replied laughing ‘most definitely’.
The duke and duchess met the president and his wife at the head of state’s official residence Aras an Uachtarain, the former British Viceregal lodge in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.
They rang a Peace Bell installed in the garden of the grand 18th century house in 2008 to mark the 10th anniversary of Northern Ireland’s Good Friday peace agreement and toured the grounds with the presidential couple and their two Bernese mountain dogs, Brod and Sioda.
Meghan, who along with Harry signed the visitors’ book at the Aras, wore a Roland Mouret dress for the presidential visit. She later changed into a black trouser suit.
Elizabeth Ring, a 19-year-old law student, said of her conversation with the couple: ‘Meghan said Dublin was her favourite city. Harry said he’d come back with his jacket over his head, incognito.’
Emma Boden, 10, gave the couple a handmade card. ‘Meghan said thank you very much and she told me that she loved a hand written card,’ she said.
‘Then she shook my hand. She smells really, really nice and now my hand smells really nice as well. I don’t think I’ll wash them for a long time.’
Dream team: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex applauded the youngsters playying sport
Learning the rules: Meghan listened intently as two bright youngsters shared their knowledge
Talking tactics? Prince Harry seemed to be offering the young players advice on the pitch
Cracking a joke: One woman had the royal visitors laughing with her winning sense of humour
David Balfany, on holiday in Dublin from the United States, said he had invited Meghan to a student reunion at Northwestern University where they were both students. ‘She told me she didn’t think she would be able to make it,’ he said.
Pauline Beatty was delighted to have got a hug and kiss from Harry.
‘When I asked him for the hug he said: ‘I can’t hug you because then I’ll have to hug everybody else.’ So I just grabbed him. He was scarlet.’
Meghan mania! The young supporters looked excited to meet the duchess and her husband
Your turn! Meghan was given her own hurley so that she could try her hand at the sport
Me? Meghan looked slightly confused as she received the gift during the visit to Croke Park
Two girls wearing ‘When Harry Met Meghan’ T-shirts were very excited to meet the couple.
‘Harry asked me where we got the T-shirts and I told him Asda,’ said Stephanie Jordan from Belfast. ‘He asked if they were really selling them there?’
The couple later stopped for a private lunch before continuing on the packed final day of their pre-Brexit charm offensive in Ireland, which comes less than a month after Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited the country.