Prince Philip was made an Additional Member of The Order of
New Zealand in the recent New Zealand Queen’s Birthday and Diamond Jubilee
Honours list. The Order of New Zealand is New Zealand’s highest honour. It was
instituted by Royal Warrant, dated 6 February 1987, “to recognise outstanding
service to the Crown and people of New Zealand”
The award of the Order of New Zealand recognises the
lifetime of service he has provided to the Queen of New Zealand and to New
Zealand in general. Prince Philip is the
longest-serving consort in New Zealand’s history. He has worked to support Elizabeth
in her role as Queen since she came to the throne of New Zealand 60 years ago. In
that time, he has travelled throughout Aotearoa on many occasions visiting
countless cities and towns.
Prince Philip has dedicated his whole life to charitable
causes. He is patron or president of more than 800 charities. Among these, he
is patron of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and is a life member of the
Aviation Industry Association of New Zealand. He is an Honorary Fellow of the
New Zealand Institute of Professional Engineers, the Royal Naval Volunteer
Reserve Veteran’s Association of New Zealand, and the Royal New Zealand College
of General Practitioners. He is also holds the Royal New Zealand Returned and
Services’ Association’s highest honour, its Badge in Gold and Life Membership. Of
the 75 prizes, cups, and medals associated with him, the most famous in New
Zealand is the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Awards.
He is the senior-most officer in all three branches of the Defence Force. He is
Admiral of the Fleet of the Royal New Zealand Navy, Marshal of the Royal New
Zealand Air Force, and Field Marshal of the New Zealand Army. He also serves as
Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
Prince Philip was made an Extra Companion of the Queen’s
Service Order (QSO) in 1981, and received the 1990 New Zealand Commemorative
Medal.
It is very fitting that NZ do this, and follows what Canada did only last year, which was to honour HRH with rank appointment of General and Admiral to the branches of HEr Majesty's Canadian Armed Forces on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
ReplyDeleteHere's wishing the Grand Old Duke well on his recovery.
I am most envious of the fact that NZ still recognizes "Field Marshal" and "Admiral of the Fleet" as official ranks in the New Zealand Defence Force, even if they are only honourary appointments
ReplyDeleteI still think it is a great shame that the DoE is not an "extra" CC. The statues of the Canadian and Australian orders should be amended to allow members of these order from other Realms to be considered ordinary (rather than honorary) members. I think the DoE has been offered an honorary CC but declined it on this basis.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about Canadian honours, but I'm fairly sure that Australia's Reserve Forces Decoration (RFD) is available to those personnel from other realms. So why not the Order of Australia?
What's worse, with the Order of Australia, Charles is an AK but Philip is a (comparatively) mere AC. Charles got his in 1981, but Philip had to wait to get his in 1988, by which time Bob Hawke had removed the mechanism to create new AKs. So the indignity of the father being more junior to the son in the Order of Australia continues.
You already know what my solution is to this...
http://themonarchist.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/need-for-imagination-future-of-monarchy.html
Very true Crux Australis. I just reread your post on the need to reinvent and revive the monarchy. It all rings very true to my ears! The Queen's council is about to be restored in Queensland so I've heard. Knighthoods may be on the table under Abbot. The uphill battle is won, now let's hold the high ground.
ReplyDelete