125-year-old Otahuna is royally approved accommodation near Christchurch. Photo / Thomas Bywater
125-year-old Otahuna is royally approved accommodation near Christchurch. Photo / Thomas Bywater
The Queen's first visit to New Zealand, in December 1953 came within six months of her coronation.
It is widely expected that the Visits and Ceremonial Events in Wellington will be hurriedly making arrangements for the new king, Charles III to visit as head of state next year.
Top hotels and lodges across the country will be waiting for the call.
The last visit by a royal head of state was twenty years ago, when Her Majesty visited New Zealand in 2002 for the Golden Jubilee. A whirlwind, five-day visit saw her spend time with the All Blacks, Sir Edmund Hillary and the then-prime minister Helen Clark.
The accommodation for the royal visit was equally reflective of the best of NZ, with the Queen spending time at Huka Lodge in Taupō.
While state visits are coordinated by the Department of Internal Affairs' VCO, it is clear visiting royals do hold 'favourites'. Her Majesty returned to the fishing lodge three times over her 10 state visits.
The Queen and staff at Huka Lodge, Taupo, on her final state visit in 2002. Photo / Supplied
"We were delighted to have had the privilege to welcome Her Majesty the Queen to Huka Lodge on her visits to New Zealand during her long reign," said a statement of the lodge, which at the time was under the management of Alex van Heeren.
Where the new King would go on a state visit would be a closely guarded secret. When asked if a royal tour was on the cards, prime minister Jacinda Ardern batted away questions saying that the Windsors "all have a standing invitation to visit New Zealand".
While it is hard to say what a state visit might look like, there is are only so many hotels that would be able to accommodate the royal entourage.
Charles III is a different monarch, with a different style and taste in accommodation.
Where do you look for a lodge fit for a King?
Royal Favourites
One candidate for any future state tour can be found in rural Tai Tapu in Canterbury.
Otahuna Lodge may not have hosted the late Queen Elizabeth II but it has welcomed her parents, the Duke and Duchess of York, and more recent royal dignitaries.
This included two visits from Charles and Camilla as Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, in 2012 and 2019.
Managing director and owner, Hall Cannon is no stranger to the process of hosting visiting princes and princesses.
Guests of the exclusive 30-acre estate in the Port Hills expect a certain amount of discretion, and for staff to be able to keep visits "on the quiet". However, due to the nature of a visit by a Head of State, some details are public record.
Though, sadly he was "not able to comment on what the King has on his toast for breakfast".
Miles Refo and Hall Cannon, right, owners of Otahuna Lodge in Taitapu, New Zealand. Photo / Mark Tantrum, Supplied
The practicalities and cost of hosting His Majesty
The King - then Prince of Wales - last visited the house in July 2019. The seven-day trip cost New Zealand $1.7 million to host, including a quarter of a million dollars in accommodation and hospitality.
"There are many aspects that are unique to a royal visit," says Cannon. All aspects of Charles's visit to Christchurch and Kaikōura were coordinated by the Visits and Ceremonial Office.
"We were delighted to learn that on his return visit in 2019, HRH now King, asked for us specifically," he says.
The former house of Heaton Rhodes, a New Zealand MP and Anglophile, Otahuna was designed from the outset as an English country pile. With an impressive carpet of daffodils and stately gardens, one imagines the King's grandparents - George VI and the Queen Mother - were equally at home on their 1926 visit.
Heaton Rhodes' regal country pile in rural Taitapu: Otahuna's Daffodils. Photo / Thomas Bywater
Were another state visit announced the lodge would be among the first to know. Preparation for such a visit would require a minimum of two to three months warning, says Hall.
"A royal visit requires exclusive use of Otahuna. As you would expect for any exclusive buyout of the lodge, we would use that time to learn about our guests, to meet their expectations."
Of course part of this requires learning the expected etiquette of serving a monarch.
"We are briefed by the VCO in Wellington for any particular protocol, in the case of visits from the British royalty," he says.
While it remains to be seen quite how much of a stickler his majesty will be for tradition, as Charles III there are a number of different formalities hosts must observe. Appropriate titles, order of address and even going as far as to not turn one's back on the King is expected. At least to take a step or two backwards, before leaving a room.
From experience, a modern royal visit is a lot less formal, says Hall.
"It's important to note that a lot of the rules and protocols seen on TV are somewhat more lax in person."
King Charles and Camilla Queen Consort with the staff of Otahuna Lodge, on their 2019 visit. Photo / VCO, Supplied
The men in gray and royal entourage
Perhaps truer to television drama is the cast of hundreds required to manage a state visit.
Hosting a royal entourage - when accounting for advisors, staff and security - is no small ask.
Hall says it was "not a secret" that throughout the visits there was a security presence from police, the UK and New Zealand to appraise the property.
"I don't recall the number but it's fair to say the security detail was 'significant'."
Fortunately Hall says that security is something Otahuna's rural location caters well to and they are used to guests with specific security requirements.
Then there are the "men in grey". The operational members of the royal household including an equerry, private secretary and other official servants will often travel with the King.
The Drawing Room at Otahuna Lodge, Tai Tapu. Photo / Supplied
The roll call reads like a particular scene from Downton Abbey. However, unlike Downton Abbey the house and kitchen staff are not required to hand over to the entourage.
"Our team is not put on holiday during a royal visit, as well as looking after the principal parties, they are tasked with looking after their party as well as any other guests."
Having met and worked with the visiting staff from Clarence House, Hall hopes that it would be an advantage for any future state visit. Continuity, he says, is often a top priority for personal staff.
