Prime Minister Chris Hipkins meets with Prince William ahead of King Charles' coronation
Watch: Prime Minister Chris Hipkins speaks to media in London about meeting with Prince William. Credits: Video - Newshub; Images - Andy Parsons / Kensington Palace Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has met with the Prince of Wales and had a "wide-ranging" conversation that primarily focused on climate change. The Prime Minister is in London for King Charles' coronation on Saturday and will meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as well as the King while he is in the UK. Hipkins also met with the Prince of Wales, Prince William, on Wednesday morning (NZ time) at Windsor Castle. The Prime Minister told media in that he had a good conversation with Prince William. "Clearly, environment and climate change are issues of real interest to members of the royal family and so we had a good wide-ranging conversation on everything from renewable energy to how to deal with the challenges of adaptation and building back better, building more resilience into our systems as a result of climate change," Hipkins said. Hipkins also revealed he and Prince William exchanged gifts during their meeting. The Prime Minister received a Paddington Bear and books for his kids while he gave the Prince of Wales a pounamu for each of his children. Hipkins said it was a great "honour" and "privilege" to represent New Zealand at the coronation this weekend. "I think it's a big occasion and certainly arriving here in the UK, you can see what a big occasion it is by the paraphernalia that's everywhere you go at the moment," Hipkins said. "I think there's a lot of excitement for the coronation here in the UK and I'm sure there'll be a lot of New Zealanders, I think, who'll be following this closely back home as well. "So it is a very significant piece of history that's about to unfold and for many people, myself included, it's the first time this has happened in our lifetimes." When asked if the conversation of New Zealand becoming a republic and him being a republican came up, Hipkins said it wasn't a "significant topic of conversation". Before he left for the UK, Hipkins said he did not see himself having a discussion on whether New Zealand should become a republic if he won this year's election. He said it wasn't a priority at the moment and considered it to be a distraction, given there are other issues affecting people in New Zealand at the moment. "I don't particularly have any interest in pushing that debate on New Zealanders at the moment," Hipkins told media in New Zealand before he left for London. The Prime Minister is travelling with a delegation in London including the Governor-General, the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, senior Royal Honours holders, iwi leaders, community representatives, leader of the Opposition Christopher Luxon and former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, who is representing the Order of New Zealand.