LONDON — New Zealand’s Māori Queen Te Arikinui Kuini Nga Wai hono i te po has met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace.The meeting with the British monarch was Te Arikinui’s first since she became Māori Queen in 2024, following the death of her father, Kiingi Tuheitia.The visit marks a near 200-year relationship between the indigenous peoples of New Zealand and the crown, formalized in the Treaty of Waitangi, one of New Zealand’s founding documents.Te Arikinui is in London this week as part of the 50th-anniversary celebrations for The King’s Trust, set up by King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, in 1976.Four young Kiwi entrepreneurs who have been supported with their businesses by The King’s Trust Aotearoa New Zealand are also in London.The New Zealand charity launched in 2019 and has since financially supported 126 young entrepreneurs with $1.33 million in grants awarded. The Kiingitanga are support of the charity.”Te Arikinui is focused on strong relationships between peoples as New Zealand approaches the 200-year anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 2040,” a spokesperson for the Queen said in a statement.The spokesperson said the two discussed the former King’s death in what was a “heartfelt” discussion.Earlier this week, the Māori Queen was also welcomed by Prince Williams to Windsor Castle.In a post on Instagram, Prince William acknowledged the visit, saying, “it was a pleasure to meet with the Queen.”A statement released after the meeting from the Kīngitanga said the Māori Queen discussed a range of global topics with Prince William.”Te Arikinui affirmed her belief in the power of indigenous knowledge and intergenerational stewardship to help solve the world’s environmental and social challenges.”Te Arikinui was crowned in 2024 after the death of her father, becoming only the second Māori queen — the first being her grandmother, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.The Māori monarchy dates back to the 19th Century, when different Māori tribes decided to create a unifying figure similar to that of a European monarch in order to try to prevent the widespread loss of land to New Zealand’s British colonizers and to preserve Māori culture. The role is largely ceremonial.
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