Home Page British Queen “very saddened” by death of…
LONDON, Jan 11 (KUNA) — The British Queen Elizabeth was “very saddened” by the death of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to conquer Mount Everest, Buckingham Palace said Friday.
The New Zealand adventurer, who died yesterday aged 88, shot to fame when he scaled the world’s highest mountain along with Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953, just days before Elizabeth II’s coronation.
Buckingham Palace said the Queen was sending a personal message of sympathy to Sir Edmund’s widow and family.
The British monarch met the adventurer many times, most recently in Windsor, outside London, in 2004.
She also met him at a garden party during her 2002 tour of New Zealand.
For his part, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said of Sir Edmund “He was a truly great hero who captured the imagination of the world, a towering figure who will always be remembered as a pioneer explorer and leader”.
After climbing the 29,029ft (8,850m) peak of Everest, Sir Edmund spent much of his life supporting humanitarian work among the Sherpas (guides) in the area and led expeditions to the South Pole and the source of the Yangtze River.
The adventurer, who died of a heart attack in Auckland City Hospital, will be given a state funeral in New Zealand.