Dignitaries from around the world are attending the service in St Mary's Church, which is being televised via satellite links around the world.

New Zealand PM Helen Clark and Norbu Tenzing Norgay, the son of his climbing partner, will lead the tributes.

Sir Edmund, 88, died of a Sir Edmund Hillary dies aged 88 ...
Cricket: B'desh break NZ duck ...
Mountaineers Bem and and Svaricek release Everest book & documentary ...
Nation poised to honour war dead ... heart attack in Auckland on 11 January.

The prime minister accompanied the mountaineer's widow, Lady June Hillary, into Tuesday's church service.

National hero

Dignitaries from Nepal, the US, Australia, Russia and India are among about 500 invited guests who have gathered for the church service to bid farewell to the mountaineer.

The BBC's Greg Ward in Auckland says tens of thousands of New Zealanders will pay their last respects to the legendary adventurer.

Around the country, the event is being shown on large outdoor screens set up in several main centres.

A special television satellite link has also been set up to Nepal and Antarctica.

After conquering Everest, Sir Edmund led several expeditions to the South Pole and helped ethnic Sherpas of Nepal's Khumbu region through his Himalayan Trust.

'Royal snub'

On Monday hundreds of people filed past his casket next door at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, where he lay in state.

Sir Edmund will be commemorated with a Maori Haka dance following the funeral.

The cortege will travel through Auckland city streets before Sir Edmund is cremated at a private service.

The BBC's Nick Bryant in Auckland says some New Zealanders have seen the absence of any member of Britain's royal family as a snub to their national hero.

The New Zealand Herald, the biggest-selling newspaper, broke the news last week under the headline: "Royal family snubs Sir Ed."

Governor-General Anand Satyanand is at the funeral service representing Queen Elizabeth II - who is also New Zealand's head of state.

Sir Edmund and Tenzing Norgay's ascent of Everest on 29 May 1953 ushered in the Elizabethan age, coming as the achievement did just days before the monarch's coronation. The Queen knighted Sir Edmund on his return.

But New Zealand's Prime Minister defended the British royals saying that the Queen, at 81 years old, was not in a position to travel at short notice.

The Queen has invited members of Sir Edmund's family to attend a memorial service in April at her private chapel in Windsor Castle.

(BBC)

<< Back