Ahead of the Oprah Winfrey interview, Catherine Bennett in The Guardian gets in with her take on the Sussexes, their royal relatives, strange habits in the palaces and hope for republicans. This is a good balance but not enough to…
Anne Twomey confirms that the Queen has also interfered in the drafting of laws intended to be put to the parliaments of Australia and New Zealand. In the Australian example, it involved the Australia Act 1986 no less and concerned…
The UK media reveals that our Head of State, Queen Elizabeth II, has the power to intervene in draft bills before they are tabled in the UK Parliament. This is known as “Queen’s Consent”. She is able to suggest drafting changes to…
The new year started with an unilateral announcement from the Prime Minister that one word in the national song is to change. “Young” – to which Indigenous people have rightly objected – is to become “one” as in “one and…
Not much it seems despite their regular appearances in the women’s magazines, the tabloids and, increasingly, on our screens.The controversy over the accuracy of The Crown continues but it also flushes out the circles of reverential royal experts and biographers…
British media observer, Phil Harrison discusses the controversy over “The Crown” – how much of it is fiction? how much is intended to be fiction? – at the start of an intense six months scrutiny of the British Royal Family…
In the UK, the number of people refusing state honours has doubled in the last nine years. There are compelling reasons to do so among certain awardees: for instance those who feel compromised and decline honours with reference to “empire”…
ARM announces the results of its two-yearly National Council elections open to all members. This time there has been a significant increase in the number of successful women candidates: 6 out of 10 elected (of 37 candidates in total) being:…
A decision by the NRL to scrap the national anthem at the first State of Origin match, an issue of contention with Indigenous players at least, was overturned after the Prime Minister intervened and sought its restoration, apparently to foster…
The national floral emblem, the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha), finally appears on the new $100 note. This famous flowering tree should have been on the $5 note, the first one redesigned and reissued some years ago, along with our Head…
