Everest hero to have UK memorial

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Sir Edmund Hillary, the first climber to scale Mount Everest, is to be honoured at a memorial service at Windsor Castle.

The New Zealander died earlier this month in Auckland at the age of 88.

Buckingham Palace said the Queen had offered his family St George's Chapel for a date to be agreed in April.

The Queen's link with Sir Edmund dates back to the announcement of his Everest ascent on the eve of her coronation in 1953. He was knighted later that year.

'Deeply saddened'

The Queen will be represented by the governor-general of New Zealand, Anand Satyanand, at a state funeral in Auckland next week.

A personal wreath from the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be laid at the lying-in-state before the state funeral.

Sir Edmund was knighted in 1953

The Queen met the explorer several times, the last in New Zealand during the 2002 golden jubilee tour and in the UK at the Garter ceremony in Windsor in 2004.

Following his death, she sent a personal message to the Hillary family saying she was deeply saddened by the news.

Sir Edmund was the first man to climb Everest's 8,850m (29,035ft) peak, with Tenzing Norgay, on 29 May 1953.

However, news of the conquest of Everest did not reach the outside world until 2 June, the eve of the Queen's coronation.

He was knighted by the Queen for his achievement in 1953, and 42 years later was awarded her highest award for chivalry - the Order of the Garter.