PRIME MINISTER HON. JAMES MARAPE MOURNS DEATH OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II, QUEEN OF ENGLAND AND THE COMMONWEALTH, AS HE PREPARES TO ATTEND HER FUNERAL SERVICE
It is with utmost sadness that our country woke up to the news that we have lost our beloved Queen, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary II – Queen of England and the Commonwealth of Nations.
Her Majesty was the anchor that held our country within the Commonwealth. She had been the ‘constant’ over the various generations of Papua New Guineans from our grandparents to our grandchildren, serving for 70 illustrious years with dignity, warmth, and true spirit of service.
England’s role in the development of our country is well-captured in History. And it has been the continued nurturing of Queen Elizabeth that has kept Papua New Guinea’s link to the Commonwealth and the reminder of England and Australia’s legacy that is now our history.
As the world becomes a global village and each country turns to the other for support and growth, we appreciate this long-existing collaboration under the name of the old Empire. We appreciate the bond that Her Majesty has nurtured so well through her service, one which we must strive to keep.
Queen Elizabeth visited Papua New Guinea for the first time in 1974, 12 months before PNG gained Independence from Australia. As the Queen of Australia, Her Majesty visited Papua New Guinea, as the Labour Government was preparing the territory for Independence.
Some 20,000 people welcomed Her Majesty and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and her entourage at Sir Hubert Murray Stadium. The Queen came to give the nod for Independence and she walked into the sound of thousands of Kundu drums, singing, dancing and swishing feathers, assembled as a soon-to-be nation of a thousand tribes.
Our Chief Minister Michael Somare expressed the interest to join the Commonwealth in his speech at Independence. It was the news the Queen had come to receive.
From then on, the people of Papua New Guinea became the Queen’s people while she extended her royal protection over us. This came a long way from 19th Century when British Papua was given to the United Nations Trusteeship Council who gave the administering power to Australia.
The Queen, therefore, has been part of the Independence journey of Papua New Guinea ever since. The people of Papua New Guinea have come to love the Royal Family and although she was always far away in London, she kept a close involvement in PNG affairs to demonstrate her responsibility as head of the Commonwealth of Nations. This relationship will no doubt continue because members of the Royal Family have been astutely involved by Her Majesty in our country’s affairs.
Through Her Majesty’s stable leadership and her personal interest, Papua New Guinea has come to enjoy peaceful and progressive existence and taken our rightful place in the Commonwealth.
History will reveal that she is the longest and most loved monarch with more global footprints than any monarch to date.
Queen Elizabeth II personified Christ-like characters of total public service, humility, kindness, grace, tolerance and forgiveness in her 70 years when many global leaders possessed little of these leadership virtues, virtues that have come to characterize her reign.
Now a very important and endearing chapter has closed with her passing.
As we work at accepting this loss, Papua New Guinea now looks forward to the future with King Charles III.
(For that anecdote, the young prince had also visited our country in 1967 as a school boy from Geelong Grammar in Australia. The Queen had given approval for the young prince to undertake the visit and sleep in a garden house with the school he visited.)
His appearance at our Independence celebrations in 1975, at the opening of our new Parliament House, and the opening of the South Pacific Games are some national events that put the people in touch with the Queen.
On behalf of the People of Papua New Guinea, I offer our most profound sorrow at the news of her passing as I prepare to represent our people – during the period of our Independence celebrations – at her funeral service. I offer our deep condolences to King Charles III and the Royal Family for this great loss.
We will miss her presence here in Papua New Guinea.
Hon. James Marape, MP
Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea