Charles urged to send son to serve as New Zealand governor-general
IT WAS an arcane ritual that ended with the Prince of Wales being asked if he would allow one of his sons to become governorgeneral of New Zealand.
Two darts were placed on the ground as Charles and Camilla began their third day of their visit to the country.
The Maori ceremony known as powhiri involved members of the Royal household picking them up while a third was handed to the Prince.
He and the Duchess of Cornwall were at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, the site at which the first accord was signed between the British Crown and the Maori people, in 1840. They took the opportunity of returning to the Waitangi Museum a traditional cloak, a korowai, which had been given to Queen Victoria, in 1863.
The Queen has agreed to loan it to the museum on a long-term basis.
“The korowai has been cared for in the United Kingdom for 156 years and it gives me particular pleasure that it can make the journey back to the land where it was created.
“I hope that many New Zealanders will take the opportunity to see it while it is here,” Charles said.
The handing-over ceremony was preceded by an address from Waihoroi Shortland, a representative of the people of New Zealand’s North Island region, which he suggested the translator, Naida Gladish, might care to embellish.
“Noble prince, you have two
Waihoroi Shortland, a representative of the people of New Zealand’s North Island region.
sons, grant that one of them may be a governor-general for us,” he said.
Mr Shortland added in English: “Think upon it sir, your answer could be very, very important.”
Charles went on to praise the people of New Zealand for their response to the Christchurch massacre in March, in which 51 Muslim worshippers were killed.
He told the audience: “For as long as I have known this country and her people, I have been deeply struck by the commitment of New Zealanders to doing what is right, even when it is not easy.”
Think upon it sir, your answer could be very, very important.