Royal reception for sons of first Everest summiteers

King Charles III on Wednesday received the sons of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa to mark the 70th anniversary of the first confirmed ascent of Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain. The New Zealander and his Nepalese guide reached the summit of the 8,849-m peak on May 29, 1953 as part of a British expedition led by John Hunt, paving the way for thousands of others to make the daring attempt to reach the “Roof of the World”.

Charles received Peter Hillary and Jamling Norgay, the sons of the two mountaineers who themselves have successfully scaled Everest, as well as Hunt’s daughter Sue Leyden, Buckingham Palace said. In a message read out at a Royal Geographical Society celebratory event earlier this week, Charles hailed the historic climb as “one of the greatest examples of endurance, combined with careful planning and collaboration”.

He said his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, had received news of the expedition’s success on the eve of her coronation in 1953. “It has not escaped my notice that there is a wonderful symmetry in the coinciding of the 70th anniversary of that achievement with my own coronation,” he added. Known for his keen interest in the environment, Charles also noted the challenges posed by climate change, “which endangers fragile ecosystems, including the Himalayan range.

“I dearly hope we can take inspiration from the Everest Expedition of 1953 in order to work together in a similar fashion to safeguard our beautiful world for future generations,” he added. In the past seven decades, more than 6,000 climbers have climbed Everest, according to the Himalayan Database. It remains dangerous, with more than 300 losing their lives in the same period, including 12 this year. Five others are missing, putting 2023 on course to be a record deadly year. – AFP