Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet the Queen in London next week.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet the Queen in London next week.
Ardern will meet Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in a private audience at Buckingham Palace while visiting London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
Last month Ardern told The Guardian she expected that New Zealand would become a republic within her lifetime.
She will also meet with Prince Charles and his wife Camilla.
Ardern said she was grateful the Queen was taking the time to meet with her on April 19.
"I am grateful that Her Majesty is taking the time to meet with me in what is an incredibly busy week for her as head of the Commonwealth," Ardern said.
"This will be my first meeting with Her Majesty so I'm very much looking forward to sharing this government's vision for New Zealand and our priorities."
The audience with the Queen is an "on appointment" audience, which is offered to new prime ministers from those countries where the monarch is head of state.
"I'll also be meeting The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall the previous day at Clarence House. Their Royal Highnesses have had two very successful visits to New Zealand over the last few years, so this is a good chance to update them on issues of interest," Ardern said.
"I'm also looking forward to a very special Youth Town Hall where I will be meeting students from three London schools and hearing about the key social issues which concern them like gender equality."
Adern departs for her trip today, and will spend a day with New Zealand athletes competing in the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
In Europe she will also meet with the President of France Emmanuel Macron in Paris, German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin and British Prime Minister Theresa May.
Ardern will meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace on Thursday. The Youth Town Hall is being hosted the day before at City Hall, by London Mayor Sadiq Khan - who has also invited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada.
Trudeau was one of the first to congratulate Ardern on her election as prime minister.
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