The Queen’s children held a 10 minute Vigil at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. Video / The Royal Family
Opinion
OPINION
Queen Elizabeth II has died and with her passing has gone a "constant" from our lives of her being our head of state, Queen of England and a global icon of tremendous standing.
But it was the Mt Everest connection in 1953 that put New Zealand on the map,and Nepal, and connected my father Ed Hillary with the Queen and Prince Philip for decades to come.
The astounding serendipity of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the first ascent of Mt Everest by the British Mt Everest Expedition in 1953 was uplifting and marvellous news, particularly given the times just eight years after the end of the Second World War leaving a war-ravaged Europe and a crippled global economy. Here were reasons to celebrate.
As Britain and the world prepared for the coronation on June 2, 1953, two climbers struck out for the summit of the unclimbed Mt Everest on May 29. No one knew whether it was possible to climb to that great altitude and remain conscious, would the climbing difficulties prove beyond them?
Queen Elizabeth II chatting with Sir Edmund Hillary at a garden reception in February, 2002. Photo / Brett Phibbs, File
Ed Hillary and Tenzing Norgay showed the way and reached the 8850m high top of Mt Everest and, in doing so, expanded the realm of possibility for every one of us; a collective "we can climb Everest!" Their success showed that it could be done.
On May 30, Hillary and Tenzing descended the Lhotse Wall into the fabled Western CWM below Mt Everest and the British team learned for the first time of their success on the climb.
James Morris, the Times newspaper correspondent, wrote a coded message and descended on foot down the Khumbu Icefall to the basecamp where he sent his "mail by runner" to Namche Bazaar where the obtuse message was relayed by radio to the British Embassy in Kathmandu.
Queen Elizabeth stands with Lady Hillary and other members of the royal family at the thanksgiving service for the life of Sir Edmund Hillary. Photo / Kent Gavin, File
The news reached the Times in London the day before coronation day and detailed that the summit had been reached and identified who the summiteers were.
On coronation day, June 2, the newspapers were full of the Everest success. "All this and Everest too!"
Eric Shipton wrote, "Of course, I'm really delighted that it was Ed Hillary who pulled it off – he is a grand mountaineer and a delightful person; he is one of the few I know who has the strength of character to withstand the avalanche of public acclamation that is coming to him. And nothing could have been more fitting than that Tenzing should have been there to represent the Sherpas."
Sir Edmund Hillary at his Remuera home in 2004. Photo / Brett Phibbs, File
The members of the Mt Everest Expedition reached London on July 2, 1953, and the Queen knighted both John Hunt the expedition leader and Ed Hillary.
For Ed, it was the beginning of a long and enjoyable relationship with the Queen and Prince Philip, who had been the patron of the Everest Expedition. Whenever they met, there was plenty to talk about and a modicum of jocular sparring between Prince Philip and Ed with the Queen looking on smiling.
In 1995, the Queen made Ed Hillary a member of the Order of Garter, the highest honour bestowed by the monarchy.
Peter Hillary. Photo / Jason Oxenham
In 2008, after my father had died Queen Elizabeth held a Thanksgiving service at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the man who climbed Mt Everest and built schools and hospitals for the people of the Mt Everest Himalaya. Afterwards, she hosted the Hillary family with an audience at Windsor Castle where she and Princess Anne shared warm and convivial conversation.
On May 29, 2013, at the 60th anniversary of the first ascent of Mt Everest at the Royal Geographical Society in London, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip filed up on to the stage to greet the Everest mountaineers who had just spoken at the event.
I shook the Queen's hand and then Prince Philip's and told him how much I knew my father would have loved to be there. Without a pause, Prince Philip looked up to the lofty ceilings of the Royal Geographical Society and said, "Oh well, he will be around here somewhere!" And we both laughed because that restless energy of Ed Hillary is still with us and very much alive.
And so it will be for Queen Elizabeth.
• Peter Hillary is the son of Sir Edmund Hillary and chair of the Himalayan Trust.
