The Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro will travel to the United Kingdom to meet the royal family in person. Photo / Supplied
The Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro will travel to the United Kingdom to meet the royal family in person. Photo / Supplied
Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro will likely meet the Queen and the royal family in person during the monarch's platinum jubilee celebrations next month.
Kiro revealed to the NZ Herald she was planning to travel to England soon to attend events commemorating the Queen's 70 years of service - the firstBritish monarch to do so.
"I'm looking forward to an audience with [the Queen] or certainly with senior members of the royal family and I expect to see quite a number of them at various events celebrating and acknowledging her service," Kiro said.
Kiro was New Zealand's first wāhine Māori Governor-General and is of Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Rēhia and Ngāti Māhia. Photo / Elias Rodriguez
Kiro, New Zealand's first wāhine Māori Governor-General and of Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Rēhia and Ngāti Māhia descent, said she was incredibly proud of her British heritage.
Hundreds of events were scheduled across the United Kingdom in the run-up to the main celebrations between June 2-5.
Prior to her confirmation as Governor-General in October last year, Kiro did meet the Queen over video which was later posted to the royal family's Twitter account.
Dame Cindy has had a distinguished career in academic research, and in 2003 was the first woman, and Māori, to be appointed as Children’s Commissioner.
As Governor General, Dame Cindy will act as The Queen’s representative in New Zealand. pic.twitter.com/Ul4xNnXCB2
The exchange started with the Queen exclaiming, "Ah, there you are," as Kiro appeared on her screen.
However, time zones momentarily seemed to get the better of Her Majesty, who started off the conversation with "good evening" - before Kiro responded with a "good morning".
"Oh, yes it's good morning isn't it to you," the Queen said.
Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro meeting the Queen via video link in October last year. Photo / Buckingham Palace
The pair continued to exchange pleasantries, with the Queen acknowledging it would be a "big day" for Kiro when she officially took over as Governor-General from Dame Patsy Reddy.
In a statement at the time, Buckingham Palace said: "During the Audience Her Majesty invested Dame Cindy with the Insignia of a Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and of a Companion of The Queen's Service Order of New Zealand".
