We’ll Never be Royals – Clark

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark appears to have taken teenage pop sensation Lorde’s lyrical sentiment – “We’ll never be royals” – to heart. In comments following a meeting at Clarence House in London with heir to the throne Prince Charles, Clark described the constitutional arrangement whereby the British monarch is New Zealand’s titular head of state as “quaint”.

“My view has always been that at some point New Zealand will become a republic,” Clark said. “The longer we go on not having a head of state [based] in New Zealand itself, it becomes more quaint, if you like.”

The Prince of Wales, who heads a number of charities and is a committed environmentalist, met Clark to discuss sustainability issues, in her role as the head of the UN Development Programme.

Clark was warm in her remarks about British royalty, describing the Windsors as “very fine committed servants” of New Zealand. She also acknowledged the royal family’s surge in popularity following the birth of Prince George, the son of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge.

“It will ebb and flow,” she said of public sentiment but insisted that “at some  point, New Zealand will have a serious conversation about these issues.”

The time for that difficult talk, she added, was not now.