Prince of Wales makes republican Jacinda Ardern a Dame

New Zealand’s former prime minister ‘incredibly honoured and very humbled’ to receive accolade

The former prime minister of New Zealand has been made a dame by the Prince of Wales, despite being a republican.
Jacinda Ardern, 44, said she was conflicted about accepting the accolade when she was awarded her country’s second-highest honour last year for leading New Zealand through the Covid pandemic.
As prime minister, she was outspoken about her views that the country would become a republic within her lifetime, but did not make it a priority of her six years in government.
On Wednesday, Prince William made her a Dame Grand Commander of the New Zealand Order of Merit at Windsor Castle.
Dame Jacinda donned a traditional Maori cloak (Korowai), which is often worn during special ceremonies, after she was made a Dame.
Speaking after the ceremony, the former leader said receiving the damehood had been “particularly special” as the pair had got to know each other over recent years, particularly through their work on the Prince’s environmental Earthshot Prize.
Of the royal honour, Dame Jacinda said she was “incredibly honoured and very humbled” and that she felt it acknowledged her family, her former colleagues and New Zealanders who gave her the “extraordinary privilege of serving them for five years”.
Previously, when her damehood was announced, the former prime minister said she was “incredibly humbled” but “in two minds” about accepting the accolade.
She explained: “So many of the things we went through as a nation over the last five years were about all of us rather than one individual.
“But I have heard that said by so many Kiwis who I have encouraged to accept an honour over the years. And so for me this is a way to say thank you – to my family, to my colleagues, and to the people who supported me to take on the most challenging and rewarding role of my life.”
She served as prime minister from 2017 to 2023 and was recognised for her leadership during the pandemic and the 2019 Christchurch terror attacks.
Speaking during her premiership, she said she thought that New Zealand ditching the monarchy was an inevitability.
Dame Jacinda made clear she was personally in favour of the country becoming a republic, but while prime minister she insisted that she had other more pressing issues to deal with.
In her first comments on the issue of republicanism after Elizabeth II’s death, Dame Jacinda said: “I’ve made my view plain many times. I do believe that is where New Zealand will head, in time. I believe it is likely to occur in my lifetime.”
The New Zealand government announced in June 2023 that it would bestow the country’s second-highest honour on Ms Ardern to mark the King’s official birthday.
It marked the second time last year that Dame Jacinda had been recognised by the Royal family, with the King personally approving damehoods.
Ms Ardern, who claimed she did not have “enough in the tank” to stand for re-election when she resigned in 2023, was also appointed a trustee of the Prince of Wales’s Earthshot Prize last April.
Wednesday’s investiture comes ahead of the King’s tour of Australia and Samoa, where he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting with the Queen.
The tour – which marks his first to a realm as monarch – had been planned to include New Zealand, but the palace confirmed over the summer that the country would not be included in their itinerary while he undertook a “limited” programme as he continues his treatment for cancer.
The King was said to be “disappointed” not to be visiting New Zealand but both sides are said to be aware of the need to pace himself during his ongoing treatment.