Fog causes Prince to miss school's big rugby day

Prince William

He may be born to rule, but the renegade weather gods were having none of Prince William's organised itinerary yesterday.

They conjured up a stubborn fog which turned his 110-minute flight into a three-hour opportunity to appreciate South Island scenery from the best place possible - in the air.

The fog closed Queenstown airport and the Air NZ plane aborted two attempted landings at Invercargill before heading to Christchurch.

The disruption also put an end to Prince William's hopes of playing a bit of rugby at Arrowtown School before he headed away for a couple of days on the ski slopes.

British media reported that pilot Jeff Lynton updated the 23-year-old second heir to the throne and the other 65 passengers via the intercom.

He said: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, sorry about that. We made two approaches. We did the best we could."

And he joked: "We wouldn't have even seen the runway until we were about to hit it."

The Sun reporter on the plane dubbed the occasion an "air scare" for William "at an airstrip in remote Invercargill".

The newspaper added that William laughed and joked with passengers, helping keep them calm, although there was no danger.

William told the Sun: "I'd rather abort the landings than plough into the runway," showing he deserved his new moniker of brainiest royal, earned after gaining second-class honours at St Andrew's University this year.

Arrowtown's loss was a gain for those who happened to be at Christchurch Airport, where the aircraft landed instead.

The Prince was greeted by welcoming coos of delight and sporadic applause, and went to spend the night in the Garden City.

Arrowtown School Principal John Lightfoot said the residents and the schoolchildren learned the disappointing news at 11.30 am.

"It ended up being a fabulous day in the end, as well. Queenstown and Arrowtown were very sunny, but the fog just hung out around the airport."

However, the Arrowtown All Blacks game against the children of St Thomas' Day School from London, organised before the Prince said he would visit, went ahead.

Mr Lightfoot said one of the Prince's aides rang him from Christchurch with the bad news, but also a promise.

"We had the message that he was disappointed and would make sure we were on his agenda for the next time he comes."

About 20 minutes after the plane quit Invercargill, the conditions cleared.

And the final straw - the Arrowtown All Blacks lost the rugby to the older English team.