Beaming sunshine, perfect waves and some friendly seals greeted Prince William as he arrived at Kalk Bay Harbour on his last day in South Africa.
He arrived in a lifeboat, having visited the National Seas Rescue Institute (NSRI) earlier on Thursday morning, and was met with large cheers and cries of: “We love you!”
But along the harbour local fishermen were angry that they had been excluded from the engagement, which saw the Prince meet with fishermen working with 2023 Earthshot finalists Abalobi.
The company works with small fishing communities to record their catch data and to ensure a fair and improved livelihood from sustainable fishing.
But fishermen and women who work from the harbour, who stood behind a metal cordon just a stones throw away from the engagement, were upset they had not been included.
Duwayne Baulse, 29, who has been a fisherman for 15 years since he left school, shouted angrily from his fish stall on the harbour front.
Mr Baulse said afterwards: “They aren’t based here and they don’t buy our fish. People only come here when it is sunny. We are here in the rain and storms.
“They have excluded us. William has not come to look at our fish. No one told us the Prince was coming. Afalobi don’t support us. This is our harbour.
“We are not angry with him (William). We want people to come here more often. Not this set up. It’s like a stage they put on in North Korea.”
Their discontent was largely muted, as they stood at their stalls and watched William from afar.
But when the Prince moved closer to the crowd, two separate protestors erupted in a noisy outburst.
Nicholette De Mink brandished a sign that read ‘William you have no sovereignty on our country’ and yelled: “Go home.”
She said: “He needs to leave. He has no jurisdiction here. We have ordered him to leave. He is not acknowledging us but we will shout it anyway.”
Then comes the next part that left me speechless. A man that was with her was angry that William had not visited the townships during his trip, but when this was pointed out to him he appeared awkward and didn’t respond.
As the pair heckled the Prince, crowds swarmed them and attempted to drown them out by shouting: “You don’t represent South Africa, we are a rainbow nation. We love you William.”
Police moved in but were told not to do anything as it was all being recorded.
The angry protestors continued to noisily shout and hold their lone banner while the royal fans simply turned their backs on them and vyed for a better position to see the Prince.
William made no acknowledgment of the protest – if he could even hear them – and simply carried on as normal.
Kensington palace aides will likely be disappointed that the protestors attempted to overshadow William’s visit today and perhaps a meet and greet with the local fishermen would have prevented the resentment from the sidelines.
As for the two shouty protestors, they appeared confused in their message and had very little bearing on the engagement.
It is worth remembering that William has not been heckled at any of his previous nine engagements.
The future king has received a warm welcome to South Africa, often being met by cheering crowds.
This was evident when he arrived at the harbour as he was greeted by huge, cheering crowds, many waving South African flags.
As he took off in an impromptu walkabout, he shook dozens of hands and told locals he’d had “the most amazing” few days and did not want to leave.
William told the crowd: “I love Cape Town, I’ve had the most amazing week here, I’ve really enjoyed it. I don’t want to go!”
He added: “My children would love to be here, so would Catherine.”
