The Prince of Wales has a busy slate of engagements for the autumn and he was able to present an important award this week.
At Windsor Castle on Wednesday, Prince William presented the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, with a damehood to celebrate her environmental advocacy work.
Shared on their Instagram account, the Prince and Princess of Wales expressed their happiness, saying ”A friend, an extraordinary advocate for the environment and now a Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the State. Jacinda Ardern it was a privilege to present you with this deserved award at Windsor today! ”
The Prince and Princess have long been friends with Ardern who now also serves as a trustee for the Earthshot Project, Prince William’s initiative working towards solving environmental crises.
The former New Zealand Prime Minister, who served from 2017 to 2023, wore a Maori cloak known as a Korowai for the ceremony.
Jacinda Ardern is notably a dedicated Republican and shared her sentiments regarding the monarchy publicly.
She did share that was in “two-minds” about accepting the damehood but was “incredibly humbled” by the honour. She also said that it was “incredibly special” to receive the award from Prince William.