Published 10:36 IST, July 10th 2020
Queen Elizabeth's letters on Australian PM Gough Whitlam's sacking to be released in full
Letters between the British Queen Elizabeth II’s and her representative in Australia in 1975 would be released next week, international media reported.
- World News
- 2 min read
Letters between the British Queen Elizabeth II’s and her representative in Australia in 1975 would be released next week, international media reported. The year 1975, is significant in history because it marked the ousting of Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam by the represented of the crown, Governor-general John Kerr. The decision to make the correspondence public was made on July 9 after a lengthy battle to make the documents public.
The Palace Letters
Giving further details, the National Archives of Australia said that it would release the correspondence -- amounting to over 1,000 pages known as the "Palace Letters" -- on July 14 with no redactions. In 1975, a constitutional crisis emerged in Australia after the representative of the Britsh monarchy dismissed Whitlam, a popular centre-left leader, only three years after his election.
According to reports, all the 212 letters which were exchanged between Kerr and Queen had been kept secret till now, however in May this year, the Australian high court ruled that they should be a part of public record . On July 9, the National Archives of Australia confirmed that it would release the correspondence. The letters could help show if the British government tried to influence events in its former colony and what role the queen, Prince Charles and top royal advisers may have played.
"The National Archives has examined the records for public release under the provisions of the Archives Act 1983 and I have determined all items will be released in full," director-general David Fricker said in a statement.
In other news, Michelin star chef Vikas Khanna recently took to Instagram to share his experience of meeting the queen. He wrote that one of his best experiences was to meet Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. Khanna recently shared a video of that interaction with an inspirational anecdote on presenting his book Utsav.
The 48-year-old shared that as per protocol, one always had to stand in a queue before Her Highness. However, he felt the book ‘deserved more’ and hence requested a separate table to present the work, that he said ‘represented the pride and beauty’ of India. Vikas also had a motivational message for all to ‘keep going’, giving a shoutout to those making their own way even if they are made to feel that they ‘don’t belong.’
Updated 10:35 IST, July 10th 2020
