KEY POINTS:
It is a shame that nothing of substance has yet been heard from Buckingham Palace on the death of Sir Edmund Hillary. A week ago, New Zealanders waited in vain for the Queen to acknowledge his passing. Now comes confirmation that Tuesday's state funeral will not be graced by the presence of a member of the royal family.
The first omission is of more concern than the second. Sir Edmund was one of that select group twice knighted by this monarch, a Knight of the Garter. His triumph on Everest became and remained synonymous with the excitement and glory of the coronation of Elizabeth II in June 1953.
When he died last Friday morning, it was night in England and quite understandable that any reaction from the Palace might take some hours. Hours turned into days. The only statement from the press office was that the Queen would send a private message to the Hillary family. The nation, however, also mourns and would expect its most respected son to be publicly saluted by the constitutional monarch before whom he had knelt in honour. Even allowing for the perversities of royal protocol, our Queen ought to have honoured our Sir Ed with a statement by now. In a week in which the embers of a debate on republicanism were stirred, some will choose to regard as a snub the decision by the Queen to be represented at the funeral by the Governor-General, Anand Satyanand, and not by a member of her family. That would be unfair, as a memorial service at the chapel at Windsor is planned.
While in New Zealand eyes, Sir Edmund is forever linked with this Queen by their shared history nearly 55 years ago, surely no one could expect the busy 81-year-old monarch to journey this far at short notice. To offer a lesser royal would carry little of the emotional connection so treasured in this land. Their presence is not important. Her words would have been.
