The Prime Minister, head of a government that has an Assistant Minister for the Republic, continues to write syrupy sweet and flattering, pretty old-fashioned letters to our monarch along with handwritten salutations using formal language: no “Dear Charles” here, more “Your Gracious Majesty” with a flourish. The sentiments expressed read like something written by one of the PM&C graduates thumbing back through the files to the 1950s and picking out the most juicy, antiquated expressions of affection and respect – reminding WfaAR of Reverend Collins’ studied epithets of flattery-leading-to-seduction in “Pride and Prejudice”. The rather overblown expressions of deference were revealed to The Australian after an FOI request but some letters from the post 2013 Prime Ministers, all Coalition bar one, to our monarch were not released by PM&C because “disclosure would damage international relations”. You can read the hair-raising details of what the current Prime Minister Albanese says to his Head of State in “Secret Letters to King Charles Replete with Affection, Esteem, Respect” by Troy Bramston, The Australian, 10 March 2024. Enough to make any self-respecting republican throw up!
Note: the print copy of The Australian offered a tantalising tiny photo and a link to the full set of documents released under this FOI; WfaAR followed the trail but couldn’t find anything attached to this link.
