Kiwi royal named for king of forest

He's 26th in line for the British throne but the newest addition to the royal family has taken his name from Northland's King of the Forest - Tane Mahuta.

Little Tane Mahuta Lewis was born on Friday, May 25, the second child of Lady Davina Lewis (nee Windsor) and her husband, Gary.

His name and details of his birth have been kept under wraps for months but were revealed after Herald on Sunday inquiries.

Gary Lewis, the first Maori member of the royal family, is a former sheep shearer from Gisborne who was running a building firm in Auckland when the couple married. His father Larry was a runner-up in the Golden Shears.

Lady Davina, 34, met 42-year-old Lewis on holiday in Bali.

Tane Mahuta is a little brother to Senna Kowhai, 2. News of his birth was buried among gossip about the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

NZ Woman's Weekly deputy editor Catherine Milford said New Zealanders would be interested because of the Kiwi connection. "Twenty-sixth in line wouldn't normally be interesting but this is the child of a Maori builder and that's the most New Zealand name anyone in line to the throne has ever had."

She said the magazine would run a picture of the Lewis family with the baby, if they could get one. "This is our Kiwi royal."

Lewis also has a teenage son, Ari, from his previous marriage.