When Sir Edmund Hillary died in January, some New Zealanders were upset because the Royal family did not attend the funeral in Auckland. However, the Queen promised to celebrate Sir Edmund’s life with a special service in England. That service was held yesterday in St George’s chapel at Windsor castle. It was called a Thanksgiving service because it was to give thanks for Sir Edmund’s life. Although St George’s is called a chapel, it is really a large and beautiful church, with room for 650 people.
The Queen and Princess Anne attended along with the New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark, and members of the Hillary family. Sir Edmund’s son and daughter spoke about their father. The Prime Minister also spoke. The choir of St George’s chapel sang a hymn written by a New Zealander, Richard Madden, who lives in Dunedin. His son, Nicholas, who is living in England at the moment, sang a solo part. Another New Zealander, Jonathon Lemalu, also sang. Many of the guests in the chapel were New Zealanders living in the UK.
In 1995, Sir Edmund became a Knight of the Garter in a ceremony in this same chapel. This is a special honour, given by the Queen to only 24 famous people. The banners of these people look a bit like flags. They hang from the ceiling in St George’s chapel. Sir Edmund’s banner has a picture of 3 mountains on it and 4 Buddhist prayer wheels to show his love of the people in Nepal. Hanging above the banner was a large kiwi holding an ice axe. Yesterday, the banner was taken down and during the service, a Maori woman chanted a karanga, a welcome call, then the banner was carried around the chapel and put on the altar. Later it will be given to Lady Hillary to keep.
The service ended with the singing of “God Save the Queen”. The Dean of Windsor walked down the aisle with the Queen and Princess Anne, followed by Lady Hillary. The Prime Minister and the Hillary family then attended lunch with the Queen. Lady Hillary gave back the garter which is a kind of belt, the collar and badge that Sir Edmund wore as a Knight of the Garter. |