Windsor: Queen Elizabeth II paid her respects today to Sir Edmund Hillary in a service of thanksgiving for the conqueror of Everest.

Also present at the service in St George's Chapel at the queen's Windsor Castle residence was the son of Tenzing Norgay, the sherpa who helped Hillary scale the world's highest peak in May 1953.

Hillary, who died on January 11 of a heart attack at the age of 88,was given a state funeral in his native New Zealand.

His son Peter told the 500-strong congregation in Windsor, just west of London, that news of the successful expedition reached the British capital on the day of the queen's coronation, June 2,1953.

He said the "wonderful coincidence" helped to brighten people's lives amid the post-World War II austerity.

Hillary was knighted by the queen and his son said his father was grateful for his "friendship" with the royal family.

"For my father, his association with the royal family was something that gave him great pleasure and honour. He was very grateful for that friendship."

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said in an address it was a "special day of remembrance", adding that Hillary and the queen "shared a history."

The absence of any member of the British royal family at Hillary's funeral was perceived as a snub by some New Zealand and British newspapers. The queen was represented by the Governor-General of New Zealand, Anand Satyanand, and she and husband Prince Philip sent a wreath.

Source : PTI