New Zealand's Maori queen dies

Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, queen of New Zealand’s indigenous Maori population, died today. She was 75.

Te Ata was the seventh Maori sovereign, a direct descendant of a royal line that began in 1858 when the Maori responded to Britain’s colonisation of New Zealand by choosing a monarch of their own. The role carries only ceremonial powers but is hugely respected by most Maori.