Brits decry royal “snub” of Hillary’s funeral
Its astonishing that no one is going… he [Sir Edmund] played such a significant part in the early official life of the Queen, the UK Daily Mails royal correspondent Richard Kay said yesterday.
Although the Queen rarely attended funerals, a member of the royal family often went in her place.
Kay, a senior royal correspondent who had a close relationship with the late Princess Diana, said the Prince of Wales attended last years funeral for the late US president Gerald Ford, who had held office for only two years. Hillary had been a towering figure in the Commonwealth for 50 years and meant an awful lot to Brits.
I am staggered they are not sending one of the Queens children if not the Prince of Wales then Prince Edward or the Duke of York. Im sure theyve all met Sir Edmund.
I quite understand if people in New Zealand feel this is a snub. At best its a massive oversight; at worst someone has bungled.
Hillary was one of only 24 Knights of the Garter appointed by the Queen, and the conquest of Everest was announced on the morning of the Queens coronation in 1953.
The royal familys absence has sparked renewed comment in New Zealand and Britain that the monarchy is out of touch with the people.
Some vented their frustration on the Guardian newspapers website.
I think it just goes to show how far removed the heads of the royal family are from the people, especially from those of the far off lands of the Commonwealth, one reader said. They should be ashamed of themselves.
Another bemoaned: Surely there was some royal, no matter how minor, who could have made the journey to NZ on short notice. I am a huge fan of the Queen, but really, her advisers and yes-men ought to be sacked and people with a little more judgement, worldly knowledge and backbone, who could stand up to the royals when they make poor decisions, brought in as replacements.
Few New Zealanders would expect the Queen to undertake the long trip to Auckland for Sir Edmund Hillarys funeral but with a fistful of princes to choose from, I am saddened that not one of them could be found to attend. This is a PR disaster which will give a huge boost to NZ (and Australian) republicans, said another.
The Queen famously misread the mood of the British public when Princess Diana died in 1997, failing to publicly acknowledge her death for several days.
Prime Minister Helen Clark and Governor-General Anand Satyanand will represent the Queen at Tuesdays funeral, and a wreath from the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be laid before the service at St Marys Cathedral in Parnell, Auckland.
The Queen has offered the Hillary family a memorial service at St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle in April and the family will be invited to meet the Queen afterwards.
Clark does not consider the royal no-show a snub. She said on Friday that the Windsor service was a rare honour. It was more significant than the usual private ceremony routinely held when a Knight of the Garter died.
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Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 6:06 pm under