Prince Harry gets down with the kids at goat yoga

London: Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has taken part in a spot of goat yoga during his final public appearance of the week.

Harry attended the Scotty’s Little Soldiers summer festival at Maxstoke Castle in Warwickshire on Saturday (London time), alongside some 200 children and their family members.

The event took place less than 24 hours after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, enjoyed a private family reunion with the King and Queen at Highgrove.

The prince joined a session of goat yoga, involving six nanny goats and their many four-month-old kids, was hit in the face with a water balloon and posed for many selfies.

He was told to “feel the freedom and presence” of the goats and to “channel the spirit” of the animals, mimicking their bleats and looking into their eyes.

The duke swiftly took his place on his blue mat and got down to business, assuming a variation of the tree pose by standing on one leg while making goat ears with his hands.

“Feel that goat in you,” said Rosie, the activity leader. “Embody the balance of goats.” Instead of the common yoga pose known as the “downward dog”, there was the “downward goat”.

If Harry was baffled by the process, he tried not to show it. “Let me in!” he shouted as he approached the animals’ pen. “Is there health and safety? Do they bite?”

He was reassured that the goats just “love love”.

Taking his place on his blue mat, he assumed a variation of the “tree” pose that involved standing on one leg while making goat ears with his hands.

Told to look into the eyes of a goat, the duke successfully stared down one animal for some time, as they almost touched noses.

But trouble arose when he lay down on his back and the goats trampled over his body. Someone joked that his security team had failed to protect the Crown Jewels, as one animal stepped on his crotch.

“Ow,” the duke yelled, as he covered the area with his hands. “What are you doing?” he said to the goat, prompting laughter.

Lying down at one point, Harry put his hand in the air to get the leader’s attention. “There’s a fight happening over here,” he said, pointing to some frolicking goats.

The duke stood up and was told to make the top of a mountain with his hands before “letting it all the way out” with a deep sigh and a forward bend. He shook it out with a shoulder wiggle before the session was declared over.

He fed the animals and posed for photographs, asking some of the children: “Do you feel connected? Are they supposed to jump on your back?” He asked others: “Do you like goats, or have you now got goat phobia?”

Next, he raced River, a three-year-old boy, to the inflatable obstacle course, where he was pelted with water bombs. “You’re naughty!” he told River as the boy made a beeline for him, throwing balloon after balloon, often striking his royal target.

When one caught Harry sharply on his face, he said: “What’s your name? I’ll remember you,” before drenching the boy with water.

Later, the duke took part in a Q&A session in a marquee, answering questions from a selection of children.

The first was from Anwen, 12, whose father, Capt Jason Griffiths, died in March 2021 from a brain tumour. She asked the duke: “Where is the best country you have visited and why?”

As he deliberated, someone in the crowd shouted out: “Wales!”

“Obviously, Wales is a fantastic country,” Harry responded with a laugh, before plumping for Botswana because of “the space and the animals and the beauty”. He gave an additional, diplomatic shout-out to Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Poppy, 9, whose father, Able Seaman Daniel Turnbull, died in July 2020 from leukaemia, asked: “What makes you laugh when you’ve had a difficult day?”

Harry patted his heart, saying: “That got me right there.”

He added after a brief pause: “You know what, sometimes it’s just a difficult day. It’s not always possible to laugh. But my dog makes me laugh, my children make me laugh, and if I need to laugh I’ll probably put something really funny on the television.

“But – and this goes for all of you – there are some days when you’d like to laugh, but it might not always be possible to laugh. But you’ve got brothers and sisters, friends, this community ... A laugh at the end of a hard day is the best medicine served.”

He said he liked to relax when times got tough with a cold sea swim or a walk with the dog.

Brandon, 10, whose father, Guardsman Sam Newby, died in 2022, asked: “If you could be a superhero, what powers would you like to have?”

Harry said either teleporting or flying, “obviously”, before adding that he would like to have a “magic hand”. He said: “I would go around to everyone having a bad day and touch them on the shoulder” so they would feel better.

The duke was next asked by Sebastian, 16, whose father, the Rev John Hill, served in the Navy and died in June 2010, if he did anything special to mark the anniversary of his mother’s death, or her birthday.

“Yes, we do lemon drizzle cake,” Harry revealed, before joking that he was now thinking about having a banana split like Sebastian.

“I think traditions are really, really important, especially when they’re sweet,” he said with a smile.

The duke has worked with Scotty’s since 2017 and became global ambassador in 2023.

Asked what had inspired him to stay involved with the charity, he confided: “I can relate to you guys. The thing that I love about Scotty’s is that the fun and the sharing and the community is the healing.

“I love being here, this is the highlight of my month. Actually probably the last few months.”

Harry landed in the UK on Monday amid a storm of recriminations and resentment.