Royal Visit: New Zealand PM John Key Set to Meet with Her Majesty at Balmoral Castle with Family

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key will be visiting Her Majesty, the Queen, at Balmoral Castle along with his wife and children. This will be John Key's fifth official visit to the Queen as prime minister of New Zealand. His trip to Balmoral Castle was scheduled for the later part of September.

Mr Key told a morning show that he and his family looked forward to the trip to Balmoral Castle and expect a relaxed atmosphere. He said he had received an official list of appropriate clothing for the family to wear during formal and casual events to be hosted by the Queen and the palace.

Mr Key revealed some details on the types of events that usually take place inside the castle. He said there was usually afternoon tea at 5pm. Everyone will gather for supper and Mr Key expects one of those nights to be a black tie affair.

John Key's visit with Her Majesty will most likely discuss various matters affecting New Zealand where the Queen is recognised as the head of state. Mr Key has already been to Balmoral Castle once but his wife and children did not accompany him.

Mr Key had been planning to visit the Queen and the castle in 2010 but he had to cancel the trip because of the devastating earthquake in Christchurch.

Queen Elizabeth has visited New Zealand several times. Her first official visit to the small country was in 1953 in which she became the first reigning Queen to officially open the Parliament in New Zealand. Her last visit to New Zealand was in 2002.

Meanwhile, in a Labour leadership meeting, David Cunliffe and Grant Robertson said John Key had abandoned Christchurch.

More than 400 supporters of the Labour party attended the meeting inside a room at Addington Raceway to listen to the final speeches of the three aspiring Labour leaders. One of the three will be hailed as the new leader of the Labour Party on Sept 15 and take the lead in the 2014 election.

Mr Cunliffe criticised Prime Minister John Key and Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee because they had "politicised" the rebuilding of Christchurch.