SYDNEY: New Zealand held an official memorial service for Prince Philip in Wellington, the country’s capital, on Wednesday, where Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave a reading.
Attended by current and former leaders and diplomats, the memorial was held at the Cathedral of St Paul, whose foundation stone Queen Elizabeth laid in 1954.
New Zealand’s Governor-General, Dame Patsy Reddy, the official representative of the Queen, spoke of Prince Philip as “one of the unchanging stars in our sky”.
Wearing a red poppy pin, Ardern read a poem by New Zealand author Joy Cowley called “Memories”, local media reported.
The service came after Queen Elizabeth paid her final respects to Prince Philip at a funeral on Saturday that celebrated his seven decades of service.
Officially known as the Duke of Edinburgh, Philip died at age 99 on April 9.