Having moved from trying to control the bear-pit of Parliament to chatting with royals at Buckingham Palace garden parties, Queens' Birthday Weekend is an appropriate time for former Speaker Lockwood Smith to be made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
In the past few weeks he's seen the Queen three times, including a private audience to meet her in his new role as High Commissioner in London. He says he was humbled by the honour and got a bit of shock to see a letter from the Governor-General addressing him as "Sir Lockwood".
"It was an extraordinary feeling. You hear this cliche where people who get these things say they feel humbled. Well, it is a genuine feeling.
"I wondered how it would feel and it did feel that way when I got the news."
Sir Lockwood has been made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services as a Member of Parliament and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
It is a tradition for Speakers to be given honours once their service is over but Sir Lockwood says before becoming Speaker he would not have expected a knighthood.
"I guess it reflects the central place of Parliament and the role of the Speaker in helping determine the quality of our democracy, That's what it relates to. So probably before becoming Speaker it would never have entered my head."
He was an MP between 1984 and 2013, including nine years as a minister, but his final four years as Speaker earned him the broadest respect.
During that time he drove an overhaul of MPs' expenses, opening them to more scrutiny through regular releases, and was credited with changing question time to make it harder for ministers to dodge hard questions.
In his first two months as High Commissioner, Sir Lockwood talked with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at a Buckingham Palace garden party where he also had a "wonderful chat" with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.
"She's a real charmer, she's genuinely a lovely person."
He met the Queen for about 30 minutes in her private quarters, a privilege enjoyed by the United Kingdom representatives of Commonwealth countries.
"The Queen is so engaging herself. It was a really genuine chat about a range of issues. She was very well informed and not afraid to express an opinion."
He caught up with the Queen and Prince Phillip last week at the 60th anniversary of the Everest ascent.
He said he hoped to continue his work for New Zealand in his new role.
"We do things really well in New Zealand compared to some things here, and there are really good opportunities for our businesses with good products here. It's exciting being involved in that."
As for the title, he said his friends and colleagues won't need to call him Sir. "Just Lockwood is fine."
