Today, New Zealand celebrates the Queen of New Zealand’s extraordinary reign. Though Queen Elizabeth surpassed Queen Victoria’s reign, as our longest serving Head of State, back in 2013, the occasion is being marked around the world and throughout the Commonwealth on 9 September 2015.
The Queen has reigned for 63 years and is only the second Sovereign of New Zealand to have done so for over 60 years. Queen Victoria, New Zealand’s first monarch, reigned in Aotearoa from 1840 to 1901. Together, these two Queens have reigned for 123 of the 175 years since the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“We send our warmest congratulations to The Queen on this special occasion. It is a great opportunity to reflect on how well our constitutional structure functions and how dedicated the Queen has been in the service of New Zealand and 15 other nations,” said Dr Sean Palmer, Chair of Monarchy New Zealand. “We recognise the strong relationship the royal family has with New Zealand and we are looking forward to seeing it grow deeper in the years to come.”
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