A new Netflix docuseries has set off another wave of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle mania, but 24 years ago, a tween Harry was largely eclipsed by his big brother during a visit to a Burnaby high school.
Women of all ages screamed out Prince William’s name, as the lanky 15-year-old shook hands with onlookers packing the corridor into Burnaby South Secondary School on March 24, 1998, according to a story printed in the Burnaby NOW the next day.
“He’s just so hot,” squealed Crystal Fuller, 14.
William visited the school with his father, Prince Charles, and 13-year-old Harry in tow.
“I love Will” and “I’m here for William” signs dotted the crowd of about 4,000.
William blushed and bowed his head several times during a 15-minute walkabout.
“I told him how cute he was, and he just bowed his head and said ‘Thank you,’” said Tasha Aspinal, 14. “That showed me he’s not stuck up and doesn’t think he’s all that. He’s so fine.”
Aspinal said she’d dump Leonardo DiCaprio for Prince William “in a second.”
Harry, meanwhile, was mentioned only briefly in the March 25, 1998 issue of the NOW by former sports reporter Steve Braverman.
“I shook Harry’s hand and quickly asked him the only thing I really wanted to know. ‘Are you going snowboarding?’” Braverman wrote. “He nodded as if to say, ‘Yes.’”
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
Email cnaylor@burnabynow.com
