Overview
- Saturday’s serialization of Jacinda Ardern’s memoir in The Times quotes her saying New Zealand “will become a republic in my lifetime” and puts private recollections into the public record.
- Ardern recounts asking the late Queen how she coped while pregnant and quotes the Queen’s reply, “Well, you just get on with it,” as part of her personal account.
- The coverage stresses that the monarchy in New Zealand is largely ceremonial and that the sovereign is represented locally by Governor‑General Cindy Kiro, so any change would be symbolic but legally complex.
- Senior figures including Chris Hipkins have expressed similar long‑term republican views while saying replacing the monarch as head of state is not an immediate political priority.
- Republic advocacy has existed in New Zealand since the 1990s and experts say any move toward a republic would require prolonged public debate, legal work and careful handling of Treaty of Waitangi relationships.