Ardern will have two audiences with the new monarch
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will attend audiences with King Charles III and Prince William before she attends Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Ardern will also meet with Britain’s new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, in a whirlwind schedule ahead of Monday’s ceremony.
The Kiwi Prime Minister said she would “share the sorrow” New Zealand felt and pass on deepest condolences to the new King.
“At the end of the day, although this is a period of transition for him, he has also lost his beloved mother . . . that’s first and foremost for us.”
Ardern will first meet with the new King alongside representatives of other realm countries tomorrow (NZT). She will also attend an audience with the King alongside other international representatives on Monday (NZT).
The acting New Zealand High Commissioner to Britain, Shannon Austin, cited the King’s interest in how the Omicron wave and recent flooding had affected Kiwis.
Ardern said that showed King Charles III’s “genuine love” for New Zealanders and she was confident that would continue.
Ardern’s audience with Prince William was due to take place overnight NZT and Ardern said their meeting would be an opportunity to repay the kindness the new Prince of Wales had offered during New Zealand’s times of grief.
Having spent just hours in London, Ardern said the impact of the Queen’s death was clear to see.
“This is a nation in mourning and of course, we observed that from New Zealand,” she said.
“But being here and seeing it in person, you can just see the sheer scale of this period for the UK and the effect it’s had on its people.
“I think the thing that I will never quite understand is how [the Queen] could give her entire life but she did . . . to give your entire life, that to me is sacrifice.”
Ardern was expected to meet Truss on Monday, before the funeral. She intended to view the Queen lying in state over the coming days.
Ardern said she felt “very humbled” and a “great weight of responsibility” representing New Zealand on such an occasion.
She also attended a gathering in London of various New Zealand Defence
Force members involved in the commemorations, including Victoria Cross recipient Willie Apiata, who is one of about 20 New Zealanders invited to Monday’s funeral.
Speaking to those gathered, Ardern recalled her memories of speaking with the Queen during lockdown and the late Queen’s inquiry about Anzac Day commemorations.
She told the Queen how people gathered at the end of their driveways during lockdown, with some listening to the radio.
In response, the Queen reportedly took a moment and said: “Well, that sounds very moving”.