Around 2000 people were invited to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey on September 19 – and among them were a select group of New Zealanders.
In addition to Aotearoa’s six official representatives, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Governor-General Cindy Kiro, and five New Zealanders who have been granted royal honours, 10 other Kiwis from many walks of life were chosen to represent the nation at the service.
Elegant in a handwoven cloak by designer Kiri Nathan and a dress by Juliette Hogan, PM Jacinda walks into Westminster Abbey alongside fiancé Clarke.
From New York, where she headed for the UN General Assembly following the funeral, Jacinda told the Weekly, “It was an honour to be able to represent New Zealand in London. The late Queen and her family have been here for us during some of New Zealand’s toughest times. It was only right we show Her Majesty’s family how much she meant to us. I think the team of Kiwis who attended her funeral did just that.”
The King and I: Jacinda is warmly received by Charles.
Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa shared later that the Queen’s final goodbye was “very beautiful and touching”.
“It didn’t seem to be real,” Dame Kiri said after the 60-minute service, which was held in the abbey, where the Queen had married in 1947 and was crowned in 1953.
“It’s one of those fantasy things… I just thought, just by some silly chance, she’s at the top of the window there watching it all. The pure silence in the abbey was quite amazing. Hardly a word was spoken. It was very, very respectful.”
Māori King Te Arikinui Tūheitia Paki attended the funeral with his wife Makau Ariki Atawhai, and a representative of the couple said the Māori royals were struck by the “overwhelming sense of sadness” of the occasion and that “their particular thoughts and feelings were for the Queen’s immediate family”.
Before the funeral, Kiwi war hero Willie Apiata shared his memories of his two-yearly meetings with the Queen as a recipient of the Victoria Cross. “I never believed in my life, as a little boy from Mangakino, that I would ever be in the presence of the Queen,” the decorated soldier confided.
Her Majesty with decorated Kiwi soldier Willie at Buckingham Palace in 2018.
“You don’t actually meet the Queen first. You meet a whole lot of corgis! They come and give you a little bit of a growl and I suppose they’re just checking that you come in peace.”
He remembered Queen Elizabeth II as “the most amazing lady you could ever meet and she has that ability just to make you feel comfortable in her presence. And that was beautiful.”
London-based New Zealander, soprano Aivale Cole, says she was a firm fan of the Queen but had no idea she would be invited to the funeral.
The opera singer was sitting in a café in the London suburb of Twickenham when she received the call telling her she was one of the 10 people selected by New Zealand officials to take part in the event.
“I’m not going to lie,” she said. “I did get a bit weak in the knees. I was very shocked, but then overwhelmed with pride for New Zealand, being able to represent our country.”
Māori leader Sir Tipene O’Regan was also honoured to be invited, saying he held the Queen in high regard.
“Even though you might find it funny to think of a person of Māori descent with an Irish heritage and an Irish name being in favour of a constitutional monarchy with England, you can go on laughing because that’s what I am,” he said with a smile.
Dignitaries are welcomed at the New Zealand High Commission. Seated (from left) are Sir Tipene O’Regan, Te Arikinui Tūheitia Paki, Jacinda Ardern and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.
Other New Zealanders who attended the funeral included UK businesswoman Jacqueline Gilbert, former Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright, former Commonwealth Secretary-General Sir Don McKinnon, choreographer Corey Baker, footballer Rebecca Smith, honorary president of the London Māori Club Whaea Esther Jessop and Jacinda Amey, who received the
New Zealand Cross for rescuing a colleague in 1992 after a shark attack near Campbell Island.
Also in attendance, but not a part of the official representatives were The Casketeers stars Francis and Kaiora Tipene, who wanted to be present and gather with those across the world mourning Her Majesty’s loss. When meeting the Prime Minister, Kaiora passed on her earrings for her to wear to the funeral.
Casketeers Francis and Dame Kiri.
Kaiora shared on social media, “We are here to be with many people and we feel all your aroha, so we’re taking that with us.”
