Monarchy New Zealand is a national, non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to promote, support and defend the

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

monarchy of New Zealand The monarchy of New Zealand is the Constitution of New Zealand, constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of New Zealand. The current monarch is Charles III, Kin ...

. In addition to the general public, the organisation's membership includes a number of academics as well as numerous lawyers and political figures.This is shown by the published names of members already visible e.g. Professor Noel Cox, a constitutional law expert was Chairman 2000–2010, as well as two MPs, being Patrons from different political parties. It is currently chaired by Dr Sean Palmer.

Aims and principles

According to its website, Monarchy New Zealand's aims and principles include: *To bring together New Zealanders of diverse backgrounds to celebrate and support the Monarchy of New Zealand. *To promote, and engage in, the study of the Monarchy, and the roles of the Crown in the New Zealand system of democratic government. *To inform the New Zealand public of the contemporary importance of the Monarchy for the New Zealand identity.

Crown & Koru

''Crown & Koru'' is Monarchy New Zealand's newsletter, published one to two times a year. It features news relating to the monarchy of New Zealand and information about the organisation. The journal was first published in 1998 under the title ''Monarchy New Zealand''; it changed its title to Crown & Koru in 2010, and became an online-only publication from 2015.

History

The organisation formed as The Monarchist League of New Zealand in 1995 and incorporated in April 1996. The founder was Merv Tilsley, and founding members included Professor Noel Cox (later a long-term Chairman of the organisation) and his brother, Auckland lawyer and vexillolographer John Cox, who later founded the New Zealand Flag Institute. It was rebranded Monarchy New Zealand in 2010. In 2002, the group campaigned against the abolition of appeals to the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

and against the creation of the

Supreme Court of New Zealand The Supreme Court of New Zealand () is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Co ...

. The group held a dinner to mark the

Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as ...

on 9 June of that year. The group defended a private memo written by Prince Charles, Prince of Wales in November 2004, in which he stated:

"What is wrong with people nowadays? Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far above their capabilities? It is a consequence of a child-centred education system which tells people they can become pop stars, high court judges or brilliant TV presenters or infinitely more competent heads of state without ever putting in the necessary work or having the natural ability."

The League said that the Prince was misinterpreted, and that " e memo itself was understandable and quite proper in the context in which it was written." In 2009 the group welcomed the re-introduction of titular honours to the

New Zealand royal honours system The New Zealand royal honours system, a system of orders, decorations and medals, recognises achievements of, or service by, New Zealanders or others in connection with New Zealand. Until 1975, New Zealand used the British honours system. Sin ...

. Also in 2009 the group described the decision by

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016. Following his father's death when ...

's National Government to allow the Tino Rangatiratanga flag to fly from public buildings on

Waitangi Day Waitangi Day (, the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing—on 6 February 1840—of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi was an agreement towards British sovereignty by representatives of the The Cr ...

as "potentially divisive". In 2011 the group held a celebration in honour of the

wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place on Friday, 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London, England. William was second in the line of succession to the British throne at the time, later becoming heir apparent. T ...

, with around 300 monarchy supporters watching and celebrating the London wedding at the Mercure Hotel in central Auckland. In April 2019, Monarchy New Zealand was dissolved as an

incorporated society In New Zealand, an incorporated society is a group of at least 15 people who have applied for registration under the ''Incorporated Societies Act 1908''. Once registered the Society constitutes a distinct legal entity In law, a legal person ...

List of chairs

* Mervyn Tilsley (19952000) * Professor Noel Cox (20002010) *

Simon O'Connor Simon David O'Connor (born 25 February 1976) is a New Zealand politician and a former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand National Party, National Party. He represented the Tāmaki (New Zealand electorate), T� ...

(20102012) * Dr Sean Palmer (Chair since 2012) Former

Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives In New Zealand, the speaker of the House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House (), is the presiding officer and highest authority of the New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives () is the ...

Sir Peter Tapsell was patron of the organisation from 2000 until his death in 2012. Former Chair

was elected to Parliament in November 2011. Former Vice-Chair

Paul Foster-Bell Paul Ayers Robert Foster-Bell (born March 1977) is a former New Zealand diplomat, a politician and was a list member of the House of Representatives between May 2013 and 2017 for the National Party. While he failed to win the party's nomination ...

was elected to Parliament in May 2013.

Publications

* ''Crown & Koru'' – quarterly journal of Monarchy New Zealand
ISSN 1179-6588
* ''New Zealand’s Monarchy'' – Monarchist League of New Zealand,
1998

References

External links

Monarchy New Zealand
{{Authority control Monarchist organizations Political groupings in New Zealand Monarchism in New Zealand 1995 establishments in New Zealand Organizations established in 1995