Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall being greeted at Waitangi in 2019. Photo / John Stone
Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall being greeted at Waitangi in 2019. Photo / John Stone
Almost 70 years after his mother’s coronation, His Majesty King Charles III is set to be crowned, and Waipā is set to celebrate.
The King was just 5 years old when his mother and father visited Te Awamutu, now he is one of the most respected heads of state in the world, with a plethora of experience.
He first visited New Zealand with his late mother and father and his sister, the Princess Royal, in 1970. During this visit they attended Fieldays; he has since returned to New Zealand eight more times.
Last September we mourned the passing of our beloved sovereign and our new King’s much-adored “Mummy”. Now this Saturday, May 6, we will celebrate the crowning of our first King in 70 years and the dawn of a new era.
Leon Foster , aged 9 of Milford School explaining a yacht display to Prince Charles during the 1983 tour. Photo / NZ Herald
I had the privilege of joining the then-Prime Minister, Governor-General and other invited guests at the state memorial service for Her Majesty; all in attendance were full of awe for her life of service. Now this weekend I will attend a black-tie dinner in Melbourne to mark the coronation, where guests are sure to also marvel at our new sovereign’s life of service.
This weekend in Westminster Abbey the Archbishop of Canterbury will crown the longest-serving heir to the throne, a man whose life of service has seen him champion environmental, agricultural and social causes. We now have a monarch who is surely more widely travelled and more highly experienced and educated than any other world leader.
The King’s work has brought him to New Zealand many times for both military and charitable duties. On one of these trips, Councillor Lou Brown had the pleasure of meeting him. Last year Councillor Brown told the Te Awamutu Courier about meeting King Charles III (then the Prince of Wales) at Turangawaewae Marae alongside two other local veterans during a previous visit.
Prince of Wales at Waitangi in 2019. Photo / John Stone
One of the local veterans had served in a unit for which King Charles was then the patron and so Lou and the other veterans had the pleasure of chatting with the then-Prince of Wales for about five minutes. Councillor Brown recalls our new King as being friendly, warm and “very knowledgeable and interested in our stories”.
It is clear we have a King whose empathy and intellect are beyond measure.
Last year we mourned the end of one era, now this year let us celebrate the start of the new Carolean era.
Prince Charles at Westport airport, to check in with Operation Southern Katipo, the large-scale military exercise which descended on the Coast in 2015. Photo / Westport News.
The coronation of His Majesty Charles III, King of New Zealand will be honoured in Waipā this weekend.
The Waipā District Council will illuminate community facilities across the district in the lead-up and will mark the day with tree-planting ceremonies in Te Awamutu and Cambridge.
The facades of Te Awamutu Library, the Cambridge Town Hall and the Cambridge clock tower will be lit in royal purple from Friday to Sunday.
Prince Charles, with Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton, left, and owner Tony Jopp, follows a flock of merino sheep out of the stone fence yards at Moutere Station near Alexandra in 2005. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The tree-planting ceremonies will take place on Saturday in Victoria Park in Te Awamutu at 9am and Victoria Square in Cambridge at 11am – both open to the community to attend.
The ceremonies are a combined effort from Waipā District Council and the Te Awamutu and Cambridge Community Boards and are an opportunity for the district to be part of this significant occasion.
Waipā Mayor Susan O’Regan said the council is following guidance from the Department of Internal Affairs around lighting opportunities in the district and initiatives that have a particular focus on promoting sustainability.
“We’ll be planting two European lime trees which are a particular favourite of the King and will grow well in the locations chosen,” says Susan.
“It’ll be a special event in our history that will mark the coronation of the King in Waipā.”
Prince Charles at a polo match at Clevedon in 1983. Photo / NZ Herald
Susan will give an address and attendees are encouraged to wear purple for the event.
In Te Awamutu, Te Awamutu Brass and Te Awamutu Musical Allsorts will perform both of New Zealand’s national anthems. After the event, attendees are invited to stay for a quintessentially British cucumber sandwich.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall greeting fans during the Royal walkabout in Feilding in 2012. Photo / Mark Mitchell
