Queen’s Brilliant Personal Success

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30058, 16 February 1963, Page 12

Queen’s Brilliant Personal Success

(Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) \r\Kt 14 -4 ».

LONDON, February 14. “The Queen well deserved her 24 hours’ break, free of crowds and noise as the Britannia travelled 370 miles down the eastern side of the South Island to Dunedin,” says the “Daily Herald” correspondent with the Royal tour. “For make no mistake about it—in spite of political undertones which every New Zealander attaches to the visit—the Queen has had spectacular personal success “There has been concern among these deeply-tanned people for the Queen’s pallor. The truth is that just like the rest of the entourage who made the long air journey from frozen Britain she quickly tired in the tropical heat on arrival in Fiji; but since then, although she tends to be pale in the mornings, the Queen has positively sparkled at night as if drawing fresh energy from each day’s events.

“For New Zealanders this has stripped the veils of unreality from the image of Royalty. Never before have so many here been able to meet the Queen personally in an informal atmosphere. “And what about the crowds which have been referred to in some quarters as small and indifferent? According to the police they are about as big as on the Queen’s last visit here nine years ago. The tendency is

for them to straggle out along the whole of a long route rather than to gather in great numbers at any one point. But there is no doubt about their reception. New Zealanders are not among the world’s most demonstrative people, but they have always been warm-hearted “Cutting formalities has cut a lot of strain from the tour, and if you ask me what New Zealanders have discovered from it, I would say that they have taken a telephoto look at the Monarchy and found under the dignity and title a friendly, and with it a rather fun-loving person."