The Duke of Edinburgh joined the Queen (wearing Queen Alexandra’s Kokoshnik Tiara with the Coronation Necklace and Earrings, the Order of the Garter, and her Royal Family Orders) as she presided over the Opening of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on this day in 1963, as part of a two-month Commonwealth Tour of Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia.
It was only the second time that the Parliament had been opened by a reigning Sovereign, the last one being during the Queen’s six-month Commonwealth Tour in 1954, while the Queen also presided over the New Zealand Opening of Parliament during the Captain Cook Bicentenary Tour in 1970 and also during her Silver Jubilee Celebrations.
