WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A new Maori Queen was anointed Thursday, taking on the role at a time when New Zealand is facing some of the biggest challenges to race relations in two decades.

A statement released by representatives said Nga Wai Hono i te Po had been chosen by Maori elders to replace her father, King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, who died at age 69 last week following surgery.

“The new monarch was raised up in a ceremony known as Te Whakawahinga, in front of thousands of…