Anger in New Zealand Over Royal 'snub' to Hillary's Funeral
Royal family's decision to 'snub' the funeral tomorrow of Sir Edmund Hillary has prompted anger in New Zealand
The royal family's decision to "snub" the funeral tomorrow of Sir Edmund Hillary has prompted anger in New Zealand as thousands of people filed past the explorer's coffin today.
Hillary's body lay in state in Auckland's Holy Trinity Anglican cathedral, to let ordinary New Zealanders pay their respects but the row about the absence of any royal family member traveling to New Zealand for the funeral, is threatening to tarnish the service.
A palace spokesman said the governor general, Anand Satyanand, would represent the Queen and that a rare memorial service would be held for Sir Edmund at Windsor Castle in April.
The opposition leader, John Key, was disappointed at the decision, while republicans say it shows the Queen is not fit to be New Zealand's head of state.
The country's best-selling paper, the New Zealand Herald, described the royals' absence as a snub.
It also listed what other members of the royal family would be doing on the day of the funeral. "Prince Charles is unavailable because he will be in Yorkshire as patron of the Mutton Renaissance Campaign," it said.
Helen Clark, the labor prime minister and a republican sympathizer, defended the royals' approach. "Clearly the Queen in her early 80s is not in a position to travel at short notice as far as New Zealand but what she has done is something very, very special and unique," she said.
Clark added: "These exceptional arrangements [for a memorial service at Windsor] reflect the personal and historic associations of the Queen with Sir Edmund since the beginning of her reign."
Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first men to climb Mt Everest, an achievement announced on the morning of the Queen's coronation in 1953. Sir Edmund died on January 11, aged 88.
But Lewis Holden, chairman of the Republican Movement of New Zealand, said: "Sir Edmund Hillary's funeral is precisely the kind of occasion for which a New Zealand head of state would appropriately express the feelings of the New Zealand people.
"The absence of the royal family shows plainly they are not able to do the job for New Zealand."
Hillary's body lay in state in Auckland's Holy Trinity Anglican cathedral, to let ordinary New Zealanders pay their respects but the row about the absence of any royal family member traveling to New Zealand for the funeral, is threatening to tarnish the service.
A palace spokesman said the governor general, Anand Satyanand, would represent the Queen and that a rare memorial service would be held for Sir Edmund at Windsor Castle in April.
The opposition leader, John Key, was disappointed at the decision, while republicans say it shows the Queen is not fit to be New Zealand's head of state.
The country's best-selling paper, the New Zealand Herald, described the royals' absence as a snub.
It also listed what other members of the royal family would be doing on the day of the funeral. "Prince Charles is unavailable because he will be in Yorkshire as patron of the Mutton Renaissance Campaign," it said.
Helen Clark, the labor prime minister and a republican sympathizer, defended the royals' approach. "Clearly the Queen in her early 80s is not in a position to travel at short notice as far as New Zealand but what she has done is something very, very special and unique," she said.
Clark added: "These exceptional arrangements [for a memorial service at Windsor] reflect the personal and historic associations of the Queen with Sir Edmund since the beginning of her reign."
Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first men to climb Mt Everest, an achievement announced on the morning of the Queen's coronation in 1953. Sir Edmund died on January 11, aged 88.
But Lewis Holden, chairman of the Republican Movement of New Zealand, said: "Sir Edmund Hillary's funeral is precisely the kind of occasion for which a New Zealand head of state would appropriately express the feelings of the New Zealand people.
"The absence of the royal family shows plainly they are not able to do the job for New Zealand."
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