King Charles shares traditional Maori nose rub greeting with activist as he launches environmental charity

21 November 2024, 19:24

King Charles shared a traditional greeting with a Maori advocate as he launched a new environmental charity on Thursday.

Charles, 76, shared a hongi - a traditional Maori greeting where two people press their noses together - with Mere Takoko, the co-founder of Pacific Whale Fund.

It came as he launched his environmental charity, the King's Circular Bioeconomy Alliance (CBA).

The gesture was described as “hugely symbolic” by Ms Takoko.

Speaking after she greeted the King, Ms Takoko, who came from Gisborne in the upper North Island of New Zealand, said it was "vitally important" for her to greet Charles.

"I came here in the spirit of reconciliation, friendship, and unity," she said.

Talking about the late Maori King Tuheitia, who died in August this year, Ms Takoko said: "From the Maori king's perspective, they enjoyed a very strong friendship and this legacy must be maintained.

"We are two peoples but bound together through the treaty of Waitangi, which his ancestors signed, and my ancestors signed."

The CBA was originally established in 2020 but became officially recognised as a charity last year.

It aims to aid the move to a “climate neutral economy” across the globe.

Talking about the late Maori King Tuheitia, who died in August this year, Ms Takoko said: "From the Maori king's perspective, they enjoyed a very strong friendship and this legacy must be maintained.

"We are two peoples but bound together through the treaty of Waitangi, which his ancestors signed, and my ancestors signed."

She added that she wanted to "continue to celebrate that relationship at a time which is quite divisive".

It comes amid massive protests by the Maori people in New Zealand over a controversial law seeking to reinterpret the country's 1840 Treaty of Waitangi between British colonisers and Maori people, which many critics say is an attempt to take rights away from Maori people.

During the reception, Charles greeted the CBA's founders and trustees in the Throne Room of St James's Palace, before moving on to the Entree room to speak to attendees.

At one point, the King stopped to admire a pashmina produced by the fashion brand Brunello Cucinelli using fine wool from Ladakh in the Indian Himalayas that has been produced through regenerative farming.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" he said, touching the fabric.

Charles was also shown cotton grown in Puglia, southern Italy, to produce T-shirts made by Armani.

One of these T-shirts has been sent to the King as a gift, along with one of the pashminas.