Every ear in Māoridom will be keenly tuned to the words of Prince Charles when he delivers a speech at the Treaty Grounds on Wednesday.
Will he offer an apology for past wrongs? Will he make a ''statement of regret'' like the British High Commissioner in Gisborne last month? Will he talk about the upcoming 180th anniversary, or the 200th, of the Treaty signed by his ancestor Queen Victoria?
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Waitangi National Trust chairman Pita Tipene is not expecting an apology, but said he hoped the future King would ''make a statement about the promise of Waitangi as we head into 2040''.
''I'd encourage Prince Charles to make comment about where New Zealand is going as a country, given that Waitangi is the birthplace of the nation where a promise was made, and given that it's not long before the bicentennial of the Treaty.''