Queen Elizabeth II offered advice to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on being a leader and a new mother
London — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the late Queen Elizabeth II gave her some of the best advice on leading a country while being a new mother. Ardern, who had a baby while in office, met the queen in 2018, while she was pregnant.
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"One of the things on my mind, alongside being a new prime minister, was being a prime minister and a mom, and when you think about leaders who have been in that position, there was Benazir Bhutto. There was myself. Before that, there was the queen. There were so few to look to," Ardern told CBS News partner network BBC News on Sunday.
"So I said to [Queen Elizabeth II], 'How did you manage?' And I remember she just said, 'Well, you just get on with it.' And that was actually probably the best and most factual advice I could have," Ardern said.
Ardern gave birth to her daughter in June 2018, shortly after becoming New Zealand's leader.
Queen Elizabeth gave birth to two of her four children, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, while she was the monarch.
Ardern visited the queen as she lied in state at Westminster Hall over the weekend.
"I see now what it takes to be a mum and a leader — and she did it more times over than I," Ardern said.
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Haley Ott is an international reporter for CBS News based in London.
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