Queen Elizabeth II

With the recent celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s 80th birthday, and with the official Queen’s Birthday Weekend approaching, now might be an ideal time to reflect on New Zealand’s status as a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy.

What does an octogenarian in England have to do with New Zealand? Well, under the New Zealand Royal Titles Act (1953), Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of New Zealand and is represented as head of state by the Governor-General, currently Dame Silvia Cartwright. Judge Anand Satyanand will assume the role of Governor-General when Dame Cartwright's term ends on 4 August 2006.

Eight pieces of trivia about The Queen:

1. She was the first, and so far only, female member of the royal family to actually serve in the military, though other royal women have been given honorary ranks.

2. Technically The Queen still owns the sturgeons, whales, and dolphins in the waters around the UK.

3. Today about 128 million people live in the 16 countries of which she remains Head of State.

4. Queen Elizabeth II is the fortieth monarch since William the Conqueror obtained the crown of England in the year 1066.

5. She is currently the second-longest-serving head of state in the world, after King Bhumibol of Thailand and is the third-longest-serving British monarch (after George III, and Victoria).

6. The Queen has received around 3 million items of correspondence.

7.  The Queen has given out about 75,000 Christmas puddings to staff, continuing the custom of King George V and King George VI.

8. In 1997  The Queen launched Buckingham Palace's first official website.

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Resources on TKI

British Monarchy
The Official British Monarchy website contains a history of the Monarchy, information on the royal palaces, the rules for succession to the throne, and recent news.
www.royal.gov.uk

The Queen at 80: Timeline
A guide to the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4908278.stm

The Governor-General of New Zealand
This is the homepage of the website for the Governor-General of New Zealand. It provides information on the role and functions of the Governor-General, and Government House and grounds, and contains biographies of past and present Governor-Generals. The site includes speeches made by the current Governor-General and a link to educational resources for primary and secondary levels.
http://www.gg.govt.nz/

The Commonwealth Secretariat
The Commonwealth's website has details of the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and an online guide for young people explaining what the Commonwealth is and what it does.
http://www.thecommonwealth.org

Royal Visit of 1953-54
This multimedia website details the visit of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh to New Zealand in 1953-54. Their journey round New Zealand can be traced using film clips, maps, and audio links.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/Gallery/royal-tour/index.htm

Britain 4 Kiwi Kids
This website, published by the British High Commission in Wellington, New Zealand, provides information about Great Britain for young people in New Zealand. It includes information about its sport, history, culture, celebrations and traditions, news, things to do, and school; and contains a picture gallery.
http://www.britain4kiwikids.org.nz/

The Prince of Wales
This is the official website of The Prince of Wales, creating a new platform for His Royal Highness to communicate directly with the public. It includes an online forum, news and events, information about The Prince and his family, a picture gallery, speeches and articles, and full details about The Prince's Trust and charitable organisations.
http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/

The Royal Visit New Zealand 2002
This page from the Department of Internal Affairs website gives information about Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as New Zealand's Head of State. It includes the programme and media releases concerning the Royal Visit of 2002, details of prior visits, an official photograph of The Queen, her flag, and some personal details.
http://www.dia.govt.nz/royalvisit2002/index.html

Please note: These links were valid when this page was posted. However the Web is very volatile, and TKI has no control over outside websites. Please let us know if you find anything inappropriate, if you find a broken link, or if you have an update for a link by emailing links@tki.org.nz. Te Kete Ipurangi recommends that teachers view all websites we link to before using them with students.

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