Editorial: Prince William and Christchurch mosque shooting victim Alen Alsati

Duke of Cambridge Prince William meets Alen ands her father Wasseim Alsati at Starship Hospital in Auckland on Anzac Day. Photo / Supplied

EDITORIAL:

Why do we continue with a UK-based monarchy which traces its origins to petty kingdoms squabbling for power in early medieval Scotland and Anglo-Saxon England?

Perhaps the answer, as much as one can be found, lies in the simple exchange between Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and Christchurch mosque shooting victim Alen Alsati this week.

The 5-year-old girl lies in Starship Hospital, having only just regained consciousness and the ability to speak after being shot multiple times for the innocent act of being taken by her dad to pray at a mosque on March 15.

"Do you have a daughter?" little Alen asked the Duke.

"Yes, I do," William replied. "She's called Charlotte - she's just about the same age as you."

Who didn't catch a little in their throat at reading of the exchange this week?

The prince who flew 18,355km to be at the side of a 5-year-old girl's hospital bed and their brief conversation is akin to a real life fairy tale - one that we can all feel a little better for hearing.

Humanity comes in so many forms. The heir to a throne worth more than $88 billion and a battered little girl, fighting for her life.

As he crouched in a children's hospital ward to offer solace, surely we can all feel the spirit of commonality? The clincher here is in his response as a human being, a dad.

It reads like something out of a storybook but now, it is committed to our history book. Surely, it's one worth keeping?