Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla

Dame Cindy and Dr Davies have concluded their time in London, where they were part of the New Zealand delegation attending the coronation of HM King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey. Their time in the UK began with a reception on the HMS Diamond with the First Sea Lord, who is the military head of the Naval Service in the United Kingdom.

The following day included a visit to Brookwood Military Cemetery – the final resting place of 230 New Zealanders who died in the First and Second World Wars. Brookwood Military Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the United Kingdom, and is part of one of the largest cemeteries in Europe.

They also met the New Zealand Defence Force contingent as they prepared to march in the Coronation procession alongside almost 7000 others, 600 being from Commonwealth Defence Forces. Later, Their Excellencies attended a welcome for the delegation representing Aotearoa at the coronation, hosted at the High Commission for New Zealand.

Day three of the visit included engagements at Buckingham Palace, where King Charles and other senior royals welcomed Realm countries for a luncheon. Dame Cindy and Dr Davies also attended a reception for Small Island Developing States, which included representatives from many of New Zealand’s Pacific Island neighbours.

Dame Cindy and Dr Davies were then hosted for a dinner with their counterparts from Australia, HE General the Hon David Hurley, and Canada, HE the Rt Hon Mary Simon.

Saturday the 6th was the day of the Coronation, where Their Excellencies were joined by over 2000 representatives from around the world to witness this historic occasion. They were led into the Abbey by New Zealand flagbearer Sgt Hayden Smith, who had very recently been to Government House Auckland to receive his DSD for services to the New Zealand Defence Force. The visit concluded with Dame Cindy and Dr Davies in attendance at the Coronation concert.

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