The End of an Era
On Friday morning we woke to the news that Queen Elizabeth II had died at the age of 96. While not unexpected given her long reign and age, it was still jarring to think that for the first time in my life there was going to be someone else at the head of the British monarchy.
Then I began to wonder about what that means for New Zealand, which is one of the 15 countries outside of the UK where the Queen was head of state. (She was also the symbolic figurehead of another 36 Commonwealth Countries.)
One Off Public Holiday - On the 26th of September, we’ll all get a day off for a public holiday. Fortunately this won’t be the kind of holiday when the grocery stores are closed (here’s looking at you, Good Friday) but now there’s an unexpected long weekend since school will be closed.
Paying Respect - The Head of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage will arrange to have flags flown at half staff and 21 gun salutes. Parliament will issue a statement, and there will be opportunities for the public to leave messages and condolences.
Stamps - The New Zealand Post will issue new stamps to commemorate the new King. As stamp production is done locally and continuously, we should expect to see new King Charles III stamps relatively soon, though a date hasn’t been released yet.
Currency - Queen Elizabeth II is featured on all of New Zealand’s coins and on the $20 note. All of these coins and notes will be left in circulation until they are removed due to poor conditions. When new coins are minted and bills printed, they will feature a new face: King Charles III, but the specifics of this new face won’t be decided until it is closer to to the time. (Fun fact: New Zealand’s bills are printed in Canada about every 1-2 years.)
Queen’s Birthday Weekend - the name of the holiday on the first Monday in June will change from the Queen’s Birthday Weekend to the King’s Birthday, even though neither monarch has a June birthday. Queen Elizabeth was April 21 and King Charles is November 14.
But beyond that… not much. The British monarchy technically approves a figurehead in New Zealand called the Governor General. This person has been a Kiwi for the past twenty years and seems to simply rubber stamp whatever the parliament and Prime Minister decide. There has been no significant conversation about whether or not New Zealand will remain under the British monarchy under Charles, though perhaps that will change over the coming weeks and months as other countries start to consider it more seriously. So far the average Kiwi seems pretty nonplussed by the whole thing.
Andy Warhol, Queen Elizabeth (unique) (1985). Courtesy of Adamar Fine Arts.
