May 02, 2023
Coronation crew ready to represent Aotearoa
The New Zealand contingent for the coronation of King Charles III is on its way to London, including Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, Kiingi Tuheitia and his wife Te Atawhai and Ngati Whatua kuia Dame Naida Glavish.
Dame Naida says having the natives turn up at Westminster Abbey may not have been what the British expected when they signed the Treaty of Waitangi, but she’s delighted to accept the Prime Minister’s invitation.
She insisted on a powhiri for the New Zealand contingent on May 5, the day before the big event.
“They originally thought it would be a whakatau and I said ‘No, it will be a powhiri. It’s the Prime Minister’s first time to London as Prime Minister and there will be those of us who will be carrying those on our shoulders with us that are unseen to the naked eye. The powhiri will be as much to them as to us,'” she says.
Dame Naida says she’s also looking forward to the coronation concert, with Lionel Richie rocking the crown all night long.