A red head who really rules

He seemed to be having the time of his life. As Prince Harry did a walkabout on the first day of his four weeks in Australia he couldn't stop smiling, joking and pulling faces. There were kisses for fans and waves for the camera and more than one break from his official walk back to greet more wellwishers. He even refused an umbrella and got himself wet in the Canberra rain.

But this big moment came when he approached a group with a sign that read 'Red Heads Rule'. The face he pulled on seeing it turned this royal photo into an instant classic.

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It's so good partly because it's a really funny photo. Harry has been caught at just the right moment, we can see why he's reacting and the response from the crowd is almost as joy filled as the prince's own. But it really works because it seems to sum Harry up to perfection at this moment in his royal life. In the last year he has become a bit of a flag waver for them. He is the people's prince, the man with the common touch who seems to get it and who isn't afraid to show that he does. And yet he has arrived at this moment in his dress uniform, embodying the very essence of royal formality. He is there to serve his country and to remember those who did before and never came back. All that rolls into one perfect royal image.

View image | gettyimages.com

Harry will be in Australia for four weeks and there probably won't be that many more sightings of him as he spends his month training with the country's Defence Force before heading back to the UK for a few more weeks of active military service before leaving the Army and beginning a new role. That will bring a new challenge. But at the moment, Harry has it all sewn up. He is a red head who really rules.