Former NZ PM turns on royals after Queen's deathbed secret leak: 'Bomshell'

Former New Zealand prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern sounded an anti-monarchy alarm after revealing details from her private conversation with the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The 45-year-old has dropped a bombshell  by sharing her true feelings about the future of her country, saying she believes that the Land of the Long White Cloud will become a republic in her lifetime.

In her upcoming memoir, A Different Kind of Power, serialised in The Times, the renowned politician said she felt she was becoming "a bit defensive".

Ardern, who served under both Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles II during her time in power, wrote: "I could feel myself tiring."

"I felt like I needed to take some of the heat out of politics and maybe my departure would do that."

The policitian also revealed a candid and frank discussion she had with the late Queen while she was pregnant.

"I asked Queen Elizabeth II, ‘How did you do it?’ She said in a rather resolute way, 'Well, you just get on with it.' She was right,"Ardern said.

"What she was saying was there’s no big secret to it, you just take every day as it comes. That simple, practical advice was exactly what I needed," she added.

Dame Jacinda Ardern, 45, became the youngest Prime Minister of New Zealand in more than 150 years when she was elected back in 2017 at the age of 37.

Despite her good relationship with the royals, the former PM wrote: "It’s not top of the agenda for New Zealand because there are so many other really important things going on."

She went on: "But if you ask the question, many would say it’s something that should be in our future. It’ll take time. It’s a complex picture because of the Crown’s relationship with indigenous New Zealanders."

A British monarch has ruled as Head of State in New Zealand since the British sovereign was created under Queen Victoria in 1840.

Chris Hipkins, who served as  NZ PM for 10 months after Ardern left her position in 2023, mirrored his predecessor's sentiments.

"Ideally, in time, New Zealand will become a fully independent country, will stand on our own two feet in the world, as we by and large do now," he said.

"I don’t think that swapping out the governor general for some other form of head of state is necessarily an urgent priority right now, though."

The role of the monarchy in New Zealand, though, is mostly symbolic. King Charles simply holds a ceremonial role and is represented by a governer-general, a position currently held by Cindy Kiro.