Rizna Mutmainah
International Travel

Jacinda Ardern receives Damehood at Windsor Castle

Jacinda Ardern has been officially made a dame in a special ceremony at Windsor Castle in London. 

The former New Zealand prime minister received one of the country's highest honours on Wednesday, The New Zealand Order of Merit, for her services to the state. 

She was appointed a Dame Grand Companion a few months after her shock resignation as prime minister in 2023, but only just formally received her damehood from Prince William at the investiture ceremony in London. 

Prince William and Princess Catherine posted a clip of the moment Ardern received her damehood in a social media post, where they called her a friend and extraordinary advocate. 

"It was a privilege to present you with this deserved award at Windsor today!" he wrote. 

Jacinda said she was honoured and humbled by her damehood. 

"I feel really humbled by the chance to be here with my family, and really I see it as an acknowledgement of them and of every person I worked with, and of every person who's supported me, and that includes a very large number of New Zealanders."

The former New Zealand prime minister was in the UK for a meeting of the prince's Earthshot Prize, which she is a trustee first. 

She advocated for the movement behind the prize, saying: "About telling every single person out there that we don't have to wait, for this catastrophe to happen to us, that there are things we can do and that are being done."

Images: Instagram

Tags:
International Travel, Jacinda Ardern, Royals, Prince William, Damehood