and 'deterrent' against Egyptian or Israeli aggression; Eden assured Holland that it was purely precautionary move. At the same time Eden and the RN continued the dual strategy while both negotiating with Egypt and preparing with war, and attempting to lock Royalist into the strategy through persuasion by the First Sea Lord (and Chief of Naval Staff) Lord Mountbatten and the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Hailsham.UK PM Eden and the C-C of the Med fleet clearly felt Royalist AA & AD capability was superior to the other ageing and deficient RN cruisers available in the Med and provided, alternative threat scenarios of possible Israeli air threats to the RN fleet ,and used other delaying tactics, they were, always, about to officially release. Royalist to steam back to NZ. The NZ Cabinet largely supported the British invasion, future PM Marshall and the MOD MacDonald alone dissented. To order, Royalist to simply withdraw and immediately return to Auckland was, too damaging to the RNZN and the crews mana and morale and future NZ trade with Britain. The NZ Cabinet accepted, a intermediate proposal of allowing Royalist to remain with the fleet, but to not participate in the 'action'. Given the Royalist, primary surveillance and communication role, what defined, action or inaction, was unclear. The classic dilemma of NZ military 'softpower'. Holland actually anticipated that Musketeer would last a while and situations would unfold leading to a clear public request from the UK for direct use of the cruisers, weapons in the action. Holland being correctly described in the NZIIA sponsored and approved, Ties of Blood and Empire, as . 'more royalist than the king'. So the Royalist remained with the fleet awaiting the possibility of action against Egyptian air force during the Suez crisis. Royalist was intended to be mainly a picket and rescue ship offering aircraft direction for RAF English Electric Canberra bombers and RN carrier-based Hawker Sea Hawk and de Havilland Sea Venom aircraft. Royalist had the same long-range air warning Type 960/277Q radar carried by British cruisers in the area, but superior AA gunnery and aircraft direction to the other cruisers and destroyers. After hostilities with Egypt commenced, Commonwealth support for the mission was confined to New Zealand and Australia, South Africa viewing it as an issue to be avoided and Canada as irrelevant to own interest and requiring international peacekeeping, the international opposition, and the possibility