Tenzing left chocolates at the summit as an offering , and Hillary left a cross given to him by John Hunt . Their descent was complicated by drifting snow which had covered their tracks . The first person they met was Lowe ; Hillary said , " Well , George , we knocked the bastard off . " They returned to Kathmandu a few days later and learned that Hillary had already been appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Hunt a Knight Bachelor . News reached Britain on the day of Queen Elizabeth II 's coronation , and the press called it a coronation gift . The 37 members of the party later received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal with engraved along the rim . In addition to the knighting of Hillary and Hunt , Tenzingineligible for knighthood as a Nepalese citizenreceived the George Medal . Tenzing also received the Star of Nepal from King Tribhuvan
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
Edmund Hillary