Developments in air travel have made it possible for The Queen to make the 12,000 mile journey to New Zealand on ten occasions during her reign, but she was not the first member of the Royal Family to travel there.
The first Royal visitor was Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, second son of Queen Victoria. He arrived at Wellington in 1869 as Captain of HMS Galatea.
After nearly a week in Wellington, His Royal Highness proceeded to Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Auckland, being received everywhere with enthusiasm.
The next Royal visit was not until 1901, when the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V and Queen Mary) visited Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington, Lyttelton and Dunedin.
The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) visited New Zealand in 1920 during a tour of the Empire.
In 1927 the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) arrived in Auckland by boat.
After unveiling a First World War memorial to the Arawas in Rotorua, they visited many North Island towns before arriving in Wellington.
In Nelson the Duchess was taken ill with tonsillitis and forced to abandon the trip. The Duke continued alone by road and rail to the West Coast, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill and Bluff.
The present Queen made her first visit in 1953 during the first, long Commonwealth tour of her reign.
She was the first reigning monarch to open the New Zealand Parliament, and made her Christmas broadcast for 1953 from Government House in Auckland.
More frequent visits have been possible in recent decades. Together with The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, The Queen attended Commonwealth Games at Christchurch in January 1974. The tour included a visit to the Cook Islands.
In February and March 1977 The Queen visited New Zealand at the start of her Silver Jubilee year.
In 1990 The Queen visited Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, and spent time at the Commonwealth Games, opened by Prince Edward. The Queen also opened a session of Parliament.
The Queen last visited New Zealand to share her Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002, visiting Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington before travelling on to Australia.
Other members of the Royal Family have also been regular visitors to New Zealand.
The Earl of Wessex, as Prince Edward, spent two terms in 1982 as a house tutor and junior master at the Collegiate School, Wanganui, New Zealand.
Notable among the visits of The Princess Royal was that of 1990, when she was present on Anzac Day, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings during the First World War.
The Queen has visited New Zealand on ten occasions: 1953-1954, 1963, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1995 and 2002.
When attending a Powhiri or Maori welcoming ceremony, The Queen dons a ceremonial Korowai cloak, made from prized kiwi feathers, and speaks a few words of Maori.
