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He came, he saw, he smiled.
Prince Harry, or Captain Wales as he will be officially known during his month-long stay in Australia, flew the flag for redheads everywhere when he glimpsed 12-year-old Ethan Toscan and his "red heads rule!" sign across the forecourt of the Australian War Memorial and dodged the drizzle to find out more.
"He asked me why did I make the sign," Ethan said afterwards which, given his ginger thatch, might have been more of a rhetorical question.
"It was just a pleasure to shake Prince Harry's hand. He was just like 'Being a red head is the number one thing a person can ever be'."
Ten-year-old Talon Cass-Dunbar, similarly redheaded and standing near the sign, agreed the ranga royal did seem like a very nice person, although he confessed he had actually just come to the War Memorial to see an exhibition.
A 1500-strong crowd gathered outside the War Memorial for a glimpse of the prince and offered effusive cheers when the white-clad royal emerged from a tour of the Afghanistan and World War I galleries to shake hands, offer pleasantries and endure endless requests for selfies.
The Monday morning visit was Prince Harry's only public engagement during his time in Australia, which he will spend training with the elite special forces, the SAS, in Perth and at bases in Darwin and Sydney. He will also travel to Gallipoli for the Anzac centenary.
The 30-year-old will retire from the British Armed Forces in June after a decade of service and has requested to fly helicopters during his detachment.
After arriving in Sydney on a commercial flight from London, Prince Harry was ferried to Canberra on a Royal Australian Air Force flight.
He was greeted by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, and the Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, before laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Captain Wales was escorted through the War Memorial by its director, former defence minister Brendan Nelson, who enthusiastically recounted the history and significance of Gallipoli to the prince.
Dr Nelson asked Prince Harry if he had seen the 1981 Peter Weir film Gallipoli.
"No," he replied before Dr Nelson encouraged him to do so.
Prince Harry was presented with a commemorative box made of jarrah and pine, a cap and Lee Kernaghan's CD Spirit of the Anzacs.
Before beginning his time with the Defence Force, Prince Harry was required to have his credentials checked at the Royal Military College, Duntroon.
While he was there he presented a message from his grandmother, Her Majesty the Queen, to Air Chief Marshal Binskin.
"I am delighted that the long and enduring association between the Australian and British armies will be joined by the military secondment of my grandson, Prince Harry," the message said.
"In 2015, when together we commemorate the many sacrifices of our countrymen at Gallipoli a century ago, it is fitting that we can also reflect on the strength and persistence today of those common values and our professional military ties. I know that Captain Wales will benefit greatly from spending time with the Australian Diggers and I thank you for welcoming him into your ranks."
