Queen Elizabeth in her Diamond Diadem.Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/Getty
We’ve all been there on video calls (especially in the last two years), andQueen Elizabethis no exception.
“Ah, there you are!” she says with a little surprise at the start of a recent virtual audience with one of her representatives around the world.
“Good evening,” she says, to which Dame Cindy Kiro, who will be sworn in as the Governor General of New Zealand on Thursday, replies, “Good morning here.”
“Oh, of course, it’s ‘Good morning’ isn’t it to you?” self-corrects the monarch from a room inWindsor Castle.
“It will be a big day,” agrees Dame Cindy, adding, “something you have gone through many times with many Governor Generals.”
The monarch, who has been on the throne for nearly 70 years, then chuckles and, displaying a slight tone of resignation that hints at her unrivaled experience, says before the clip tails off, “Indeed I have, yes.”
The audience was to invest 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, which she was awarded earlier this year.
The Queen and Dame Cindy Kiro.Buckingham Palace
On Thursday, Dame Cindy will be sworn in as Governor General. The role of the Governor-General is to represent the Queen in the countries where she is still head of state. These include Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
Dame Cindy has had a distinguished career in academic research, holding leadership roles at several New Zealand universities and was Chief Executive of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, which promotes research and scholarly activity in science, technology and the humanities, and raises public awareness and understanding of those fields.
Dame Cindy Kiro.Government House New Zealand
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Back in 2003, she was the first woman, and first Māori, to be appointed as Children’s Commissioner, and she received an honor from Her Majesty when she was appointed as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to child well-being and education earlier this year.
source: people.com
