The shop owner, Chris Stephen, spoke to Better Homes and Gardens Australia about her unexpected encounter with British royalty.
“It was a wish come true,” she said. “He was kind and has a good sense of humour.”
Chris was showing her famous customer a faux-fur scarf when she realised who she was speaking to.
“He was just a regular guy popping in for a look around,” she said. “We joked a wee bit. He’s a regular nice young man.”
Lilaberry Home Décor is a homewares store in the quaint Canadian seaside town of Sidney-by-the-Sea. Described as “warm, welcoming and fragrant,” it showcases a covetable line-up of home décor – “from practical to whimsical, sophisticated to cheeky.”
Chris admits that she loves France and “anything French-inspired”, and Lilaberry stocks a range of French table linens, cushions, soaps and glassware”, as well as Italian clothing, cards, home decor, nautical decor, candles, jewellery and wall art.
Prince Harry left the store loaded with Christmas presents – but not before Chris asked him for a hug.
“It was a moment I will hold dear in my heart forever,” she explained. “My heart was bursting... I’ve watched him grow up.”
Before the prince left, Chris gifted him with one of her legendary toy otters for his son, Archie.
Lilaberry is located at 2474 Beacon Avenue, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada.
