# New Zealand royal honours system

The New Zealand royal honours system, a system of orders, decorations and medals, recognises achievements of, or service by, New Zealanders or others in connection with New Zealand. Until 1975, New Zealand used the British honours system. Since then the country has introduced a number of uniquely New Zealand honours, and as of 2021, only the dynastic British honours continue in active use in New Zealand, with the exception of the Order of the Companions of Honour, to which Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, a New Zealand soprano, was appointed in 2018.
The New Zealand royal honours comprise the Order of New Zealand, the New Zealand Order of Merit, the King's Service Order, King's Service Medal, New Zealand bravery awards, New Zealand gallantry awards, the New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration and the New Zealand Antarctic Medal.
The monarch of New Zealand awards honours on ministerial advice. However, certain awards remain in the exclusive gift of the monarch.
The Honours Unit of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet administers the New Zealand honours system.

## History

Since the beginning of settlement in the mid-nineteenth century, British honours were awarded in New Zealand. In 1848, Governor George Grey received the first honour granted to a New Zealand resident, becoming a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. For more than a hundred years the British honours system was used for New Zealand. In appropriate cases, this included peerages and baronetcies.
Bernard Freyberg, although not born in New Zealand and resident outside New Zealand for a considerable portion of his life, had significant connections with New Zealand, and was ennobled while serving as governor-general of New Zealand in 1951. The current bearer of the title, Valerian Freyberg, 3rd Baron Freyberg, is based in the United Kingdom and is one of the 92 hereditary peers elected to sit in the House of Lords.
Arthur Porritt, a New Zealand-born physician, surgeon, statesman and athlete, became a baronet in 1963 and was appointed governor-general of New Zealand in 1967 (the first person born in New Zealand to serve in this post), serving until 1972. He moved to live in England upon the expiry of his term as governor-general, and was later ennobled in 1973. Porritt was resident in England at the time he was made a baronet and at the time he received his peerage. His son, Jonathon Porritt, is a resident of England and is entitled to register his claim to his father's baronetcy (but not to his peerage, since it was a life peerage). He has so far declined to do so.
In 1975, after a review of the system, two uniquely New Zealand honours were integrated into it: the Queen's Service Order, and its affiliated Medal. In 1987, the Order of New Zealand was instituted as the supreme New Zealand honour.
In 1996, Robin Cooke, a New Zealand judge, was awarded a life peerage. Following his ennoblement until his retirement at the age of 75, Cooke sat in the British House of Lords as a law lord, and ex officio also in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which at that time was the highest authority in the New Zealand judicial system. Cooke is the only Commonwealth judge from outside Britain to have attained this distinction (James Atkin was born in Australia but only spent the first three years of his life there before returning permanently to England and Wales). The discontinuance of appeals to the Privy Council from New Zealand in 2003 (combined with the cessation of the judicial functions of the House of Lords since then) makes it unlikely that a similar honour will be granted in future on the strength of judicial services rendered in New Zealand.
A further review of the New Zealand royal honours system in 1996 and 1997 resulted in the termination of awards of almost all British honours and the creation of a new five-level New Zealand Order of Merit to replace them. In 2000, Prime Minister Helen Clark announced that no further awards of knighthoods and damehoods would be made in the New Zealand honours system. However, in March 2009, Prime Minister John Key announced the restoration of knighthoods and damehoods to the honours system, with past recipients of the two highest grades of the New Zealand Order of Merit to be eligible to receive titles.

## Orders and other honours

| Complete name | Grade (Letters) | Established | Founder | Motto | Awarded to/for | Associated awards |
| Most Noble Order of the Garter | Knight Companion (KG) Lady Companion (LG) | 23 April 1348 | Edward III | Honi soit qui mal y pense ("shame upon him who thinks evil of it") | Relating to England and Wales | None |
| Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle | Knight (KT) Lady (LT) | 29 May 1687 | James VII and II | Nemo me impune lacessit ("No one provokes me with impunity") | Relating to Scotland | None |
| Royal Victorian Order | Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GCVO) | 21 April 1896 | Victoria | Victoria | Services to the Crown | Royal Victorian Medal, Royal Victorian Chain |
| Royal Victorian Order | Knight Commander (KCVO) Dame Commander (DCVO) | 21 April 1896 | Victoria | Victoria | Services to the Crown | Royal Victorian Medal, Royal Victorian Chain |
| Royal Victorian Order | Commander (CVO) | 21 April 1896 | Victoria | Victoria | Services to the Crown | Royal Victorian Medal, Royal Victorian Chain |
| Royal Victorian Order | Lieutenant (LVO) | 21 April 1896 | Victoria | Victoria | Services to the Crown | Royal Victorian Medal, Royal Victorian Chain |
| Royal Victorian Order | Member (MVO) | 21 April 1896 | Victoria | Victoria | Services to the Crown | Royal Victorian Medal, Royal Victorian Chain |
| Order of Merit | Member (OM) | 23 June 1902 | Edward VII | For merit | Military, science, art, literature, culture | None |
| Order of New Zealand | Member (ONZ) | 6 February 1987 | Elizabeth II | None | Outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity | None |
| New Zealand Order of Merit | Knight or Dame Grand Companion (GNZM) | 30 May 1996 | Elizabeth II | For Merit — Tohu Hiranga | Meritorious service to the Crown and the nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions, or other merits | None |
| New Zealand Order of Merit | Knight Companion (KNZM) Dame Companion (DNZM) | 30 May 1996 | Elizabeth II | For Merit — Tohu Hiranga | Meritorious service to the Crown and the nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions, or other merits | None |
| New Zealand Order of Merit | Companion (CNZM) | 30 May 1996 | Elizabeth II | For Merit — Tohu Hiranga | Meritorious service to the Crown and the nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions, or other merits | None |
| New Zealand Order of Merit | Officer (ONZM) | 30 May 1996 | Elizabeth II | For Merit — Tohu Hiranga | Meritorious service to the Crown and the nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions, or other merits | None |
| New Zealand Order of Merit | Member (MNZM) | 30 May 1996 | Elizabeth II | For Merit — Tohu Hiranga | Meritorious service to the Crown and the nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions, or other merits | None |
| King's Service Order | Companion (KSO) | 13 March 1975 | Elizabeth II | For service — Mō ngā mahi nui | For valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the public sector, whether in elected or appointed office | King's Service Medal |
| King's Service Medal | (KSM) | 13 March 1975 | Elizabeth II | For service — Mō ngā mahi nui | Voluntary service to the community or services to the Crown in the public sector, in elected or appointed office. | |
| New Zealand Antarctic Medal | (NZAM) | 1 September 2006 | Elizabeth II | None | For outstanding contribution to exploration, scientific research, conservation, environmental protection, or knowledge of the Antarctic region; or in support of New Zealand's objectives or operations, or both, in the Antarctic region. | None |
| New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration | (DSD) | 14 May 2007 | Elizabeth II | None | Distinguished military service, by regular, territorial and reserve members of the New Zealand Defence Force | None |
| New Zealand Memorial Cross | — | 12 September 1947 | George VI | None | Next of kin of New Zealand service personnel who, since September 1939, have been killed on active service or later die of wounds | None |
* Orders. The Order of the Garter is the country's highest civilian honour, then the Order of the Thistle, then the Order of Merit, then the Order of New Zealand, then the New Zealand Order of Merit (with five levels), then the Royal Victorian Order (also with five levels). The King's Service Order has similar precedence to the fourth level of the New Zealand Order of Merit. The King's Service Medal takes precedence after the New Zealand Order of Merit. Prior to the reorganisation of the New Zealand honours system in 1996, New Zealanders received various British Imperial honours, namely peerages and baronetcies of the United Kingdom, the Order of the Bath, Order of St Michael and St George, Order of the British Empire, and Knight Bachelor.
* Other decorations and medals. These usually do not carry titles, but nonetheless entitle the holder to place post nominals after their name. The New Zealand Antarctic Medal and the Distinguished Service Decoration are analogues to the Polar Medal and the Medal of the Order of the British Empire. (See British and Commonwealth orders and decorations.)
* The Most Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem (founded 1888). The Order is not technically a State Order or Royal Order, although the monarch is the Sovereign Head of the Order and the Governor-General of New Zealand is the Prior in New Zealand. It is, however, an official Order of Chivalry, being considered by DPMC as such. Membership of the Order confers official post-nominals commensurate with rank within the Order. The conferring of post-nominals in New Zealand is in contrast to other Priories where the Order's leadership in those nations prohibits its members to use post-nominals outside of internal Order business. The Order's members may wear its insignia, but do not enjoy de jour use of the title "Sir" associated with other Orders' levels of knighthood.
* Honours in the exclusive gift of the monarch such as the Order of the Garter, Order of the Thistle, Royal Victorian Order and Order of Merit are not conferred on ministerial advice and continue to be part of the New Zealand royal honours system.

## Māori Kīngi honours

In 2014, King Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII and the Māori King movement established an independent honours system outside the New Zealand and Commonwealth governments to recognize those individuals who have been strong supporters of Māori and Māori issues.
Speaking at the closing of the annual Koroneihana on 21 August 2014, Kīngi Tuheitia acknowledged that while honours were not typically the Māori way, they were necessary to celebrate the efforts of Māori allies and to put the achievements of Māori individuals on equal standing as other sovereign states.
Three separate orders were created, each with a badge repeating the motto seen on the Kīngitanga coat of arms, Ko te mana motuhake, meaning "The self-determination and control over one’s own destiny". The senior-most honour, The Order of King Pootatau Te Wherowhero, also confers a collar upon investiture.
Tuheitia recognized Ihakara Porutu "Kara" Puketapu and Koro Tainui Wētere, both longtime New Zealand public servants and Māori community leaders as the founding members of the Order of the Taniwha. Dr Puketapu had previously turned down other National and Commonwealth honors, but lent his name to be invested in the Kīngitanga order. Named for the mythical beings that serve as guardians of the people, the award is meant to be an order of merit dedicated to individuals who have also served as guardians of the Māori people and heritage.
Hawaiian Princess Abigail Kawānanakoa and Taini Puahaere Rutene were named as the first recipients of The Illustrious Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu in the first and third grades of the order respectively. The award was named for Tuheitia's mother, Te Atairangikaahu, the first Māori Queen and first Māori to be made a Dame of the Order of the British Empire. In 2023, Tuheitia recognized Queen Camilla as a first grade member of the order, suggesting that this award is dedicated to female individuals of regardless of ethnic origin for their support of indigenous culture and heritage, similar to the Japanese Order of the Precious Crown.
Stated to be a dynastic order reserved exclusively for foreign heads of state, as King of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth, Charles III became the first recipient and founding member of The Order of King Pootatau Te Wherowhero in 2023. In doing so, Charles returned the favor Queen Te Atairangikaahu did in validating the Order of New Zealand as its founding member, and in effect legitimatizes the honour as one given by a monarch to another, much as that of stranger members of the Order of the Garter. The award is named for the first Māori King and Tuheitia's 6x grandfather, whose name he and every other Kīngi has adopted as their regnal name.
In 2015, Native Hawaiian Ivan Lui-Kwan, who serves as honorary Kīngitanga Ambassador to the United States and Hawaii was invested in the Order of the Taniwha (first class), and Nita Gregory, longtime aide to Queen Te Atairangikaahu, was honoured as a member of The Illustrious Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu (third class).

### Kīngitanga Orders

| Name | Established | Founder | Current Sovereign | Awarded to/for | Motto |
| Order of King Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (Tohu Hōnore o te Kīngi Pōtatau Te Wherowhero) | 21 August 2014 | Tuheitia | Te Arikinui Kuīni | A dynastic order reserved for foreign heads of state who have rendered special service to the Kīngitanga. | Ko te mana motuhake ("The self-determination and control over one’s own destiny") |
| Illustrious Order of Te Arikinui Queen Te Atairangikaahu (Tohu Hōnore Hira o Te Arikinui Te Atairangikaahu) | 21 August 2014 | Tūheitia | Te Arikinui Kuīni | Recognizes female individuals for their support of indigenous culture and heritage. | Ko te mana motuhake ("The self-determination and control over one’s own destiny") |
| Order of the Taniwha (Tohu Hōnore o te Taniwha) | 21 August 2014 | Tūheitia | Te Arikinui Kuīni | An order of chivalry honouring individuals who have served as guardians of the Māori people. | Ko te mana motuhake ("The self-determination and control over one’s own destiny") |
* ↑ Has only been conferred in the supreme grade with collar, badge, and breast star. Decorations of additional grades currently unknown.
* ↑ Has been conferred in the first and third grade. The first grade confers a badge suspended from a yellow ribbon, and a breast star.
* ↑ Has only been conferred in the first grade. The first grade confers a badge suspended from a blue ribbon.