Former PM Jacinda Ardern receives New Zealand’s second-highest honour

Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern received one of New Zealand’s highest honours for her service leading the country through a mass shooting and coronavirus pandemic. Ardern received the Dame Grand Companionship, New Zealand’s second-highest honour, as part of the King Charles Birthday Honours. In New Zealand, royal honorees are typically chosen twice a year by the Prime Minister and signed off by Charles, the British king who is also recognised as New Zealand’s king. In a statement, Prime Minister of New Zealand, said that she was being recognised for her service during some of the greatest challenges our country has faced in modern times.