King Charles visits Ukrainian military recruits training camp taking part in a hongi as he met a kiwi solider. Video / Getty
This was one of the most read stories on the NZ Herald website in 2023.
King Charles has shared a special moment with a Kiwi soldier while visiting a military training base in the UK to mark one year since the beginning of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
According to the Daily Mail, the King, 74, was a cheerful presence as he greeted soldiers completing a five-week basic combat training course from British and international partner forces.
Among them, a Kiwi soldier has been filmed taking off his hat and engaging in a hongi with the monarch, who mutters something to the soldier, eliciting a smile from him and the group of military men surrounding them.
King Charles greets a New Zealand soldier during a training operation in Wiltshire, England. Photo / Getty Images
Footage shows the King spending time engaging in conversation with the group of six soldiers stationed at Wiltshire, England.
According to the New Zealand Defence Force 120 NZ Army personnel were delivering infantry training to help prepare Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) soldiers for the battlefield at the end of last year.
As of January, 66 personnel are assisting with training the AFU and will return to New Zealand at the end of July.
The King also spoke with a Ukrainian soldier who shared that he has left his wife and child to fight for his country.
The monarch, who trained as a jet pilot in 1971, told the soldier: “You are amazing.”
King Charles III engages in a hongi with the New Zealand soldier, who is part of the Ukrainian contingent in training. Photo / Getty Images
In March last year, King Charles described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an attack on “the values of democracy … in the ‘most unconscionable way’.
“In the stand we take here, we are in solidarity with all those who are resisting brutal aggression,” he said, according to the Daily Mail.
King Charles’ hongi with the New Zealand soldier is by no means the first time a British royal has engaged in the Māori greeting. William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales, Queen Consort Camila, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew, Princess Diana and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have all taken part, generally during royal tours to New Zealand.
Image 1 of 19: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge receives a hongi at the official greeting at Dunedin International Airport.
Photo / Getty
The NZ Defence Force has been contacted for further comment.
