Tea, bunting but no magic: King's appeal shrinks amid debate over colonisation

As the coronation approaches there is some fascination with the monarchy but its role in the country’s future is uncertain

- Tess McClure

In town halls and social media groups, New Zealand's most committed royalists are planning high teas, concerts, and watching parties. For the most dedicated, the memorabilia will be on display: tea sets and replica tiaras, lifetime collections of Woman's Weekly front pages and special edition photo books. For others, however - including the country's dedicated royal watchers - the coronation cupcakes and cucumber sandwiches come with a side of doubt, over the monarchy's future and the changing way it is viewed in colonised countries.

Elizabeth Garlick will watch the coronation live, late into the night, with other royal fans who are planning wine, cheese, and possibly tiaras. She says she fell in love with the royals as a small child, seeing Diana, Princess of Wales in the news, and became a "royal watcher" - keeping track of events in the monarchy's timeline. "I grew up in a family of other royal watchers my great aunties, my great nana has [the queen's] coronation on vinyl," she said. "For me, this is like a once-in-a-lifetime - a historical moment."

Even for the ardent royal watchers, however, recent years have brought tensions over the monarchy to the surface - for Garlick, those include questions around race and the treatment of the Duchess of Sussex, as well as considering the legacy of colonisation. Over time, Garlick says, the Windsors have come to seem "more institution than family".