The Hindu : Front Page : Service for Edmund Hillary

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Thursday, Apr 03, 2008
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Service for Edmund Hillary

Queen Elizabeth II joins New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark in ceremony

LONDON: Queen Elizabeth II joined New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark at a special service in a chapel at Windsor Castle on Wednesday to celebrate the life of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first to conquer Mount Everest.

Ms. Clark said the Queen “shared a history” with the explorer. The monarch learned on the day of her coronation, June 2, 1953, that Hillary had climbed the world’s highest peak three days earlier.

Hillary’s son Peter told the congregation in the castle’s St. George’s Chapel that the two events were a “wonderful coincidence” that lifted the spirits of a nation ravaged by war.

The New Zealand explorer died in January at the age of 88. His ashes were scattered in Auckland Harbour after a state funeral. The Queen knighted Hillary for his achievement and later named him a Knight of the Garter.

The service was attended by members of the royal family, surviving members of the British expedition to the Himalayas, and the son of Hillary’s sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

George Band (79), who was 24 when he was selected for the expedition, praised Hillary.

“He was a very tough, very fit, swarthy man. He was a rough cut diamond,” said Mr. Band. “He was a great chap and it is a great honour to be here.”

About 500 persons listened to the service on speakers set up outside the chapel. A few selected by ballot were invited inside. — AP

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