Long live the King – thoughts from New Zealand

Like the rest of the world, Turner Hopkins along with the rest of New Zealand woke to the sad news of her majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s passing on 9 September 2022. As her heir and successor prior to his accession HRH Prince Charles eloquently put it, “it had to happen sometime” but still as anticipated as it may have been, it was still unexpected and a shock to our nation.

Subsequent to the signing of The Treaty of Waitangi, Aotearoa, New Zealand’s founding document executed by Queen Victoria and Māori chiefs (rangatira) in 1840 the British sovereign became New Zealand's head of state.

While New Zealand has since evolved to become distinctly independent from Great Britain, the country remains, along with 14 other countries (realms) of the Commonwealth of Nations. The countries that form the Commonwealth of Nations are all independent, however the British Sovereign remains the head of state of each of the “realm “countries.  The balance of the 56 countries that form the Commonwealth are member states and are either republics or have their own monarchs.

With the Queen’s death and the accession of Prince Charles to the throne, New Zealand’s head of state is King Charles III. The King’s official New Zealand title is the King of New Zealand or in Māori, Kīngi o Aotearoa. In this capacity, King Charles, and other members of the royal family undertake various public and private functions across New Zealand. The King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.

All executive authority is vested in the King, and royal assent is required for parliament to enact laws and for letters patent and Orders in Council to have legal effect. The King’s authority is generally limited to convention with most royal constitutional duties and ceremonial duties being typically carried out by the governor general of New Zealand as his majesty’s representative in New Zealand.

It is too early to discern whether the death of the Queen will reignite calls for New Zealand to form a republic and reject the British Sovereign as it’s head of state. Here at Turner Hopkins, we do not anticipate a fundamental shift away from convention. However, whatever the future may bring we remain committed to our international and domestic relationships and we will continue to deliver exceptional service to our clients.

For now, like Great Britain and the rest of the world we as New Zealanders are mourning the loss of a truly remarkable women and the leader of nations. As a mark of respect our office will be closed on 26 September 2022 so that our staff may to take time to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and participate in the Memorial Services to be held that day.