Mystery portraits of the Queen hung in Australian PM's office + Prince Harry visits

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ts-office.html

Mystery portrait of Queen hung in Australian PM's Tony Abbott's office

Portraits of the Queen have begun mysteriously appearing inside the prime minister's department in Canberra since the election of Tony Abbott, Australia’s new British-born and staunchly monarchist leader.

Tony Abbott meets with HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2011

Civil servants in the capital reportedly first noticed the appearance of the portraits during a meet and greet with the new prime minister last Wednesday at the offices of the department of prime minster and cabinet.

However, the portraits were not hung at the request of Mr Abbott, a 55-year-old former Rhodes Scholar who once headed the country’s monarchist movement.

The department, which is the most powerful arm of the civil service but also tends to be discrete, if not secretive, is understood to have chosen to hang the portraits but has refused to say why.

“The prime minister has not ordered the installation of portraits of the Queen at the department's building," the department told Fairfax Media. "We have no further comment on the subject."

The Telegraph requested a more detailed explanation late today but has yet to receive a response.

Some employees of the prime minister’s department were reportedly none too pleased by the sudden appearance of the portrait in the staff briefing room. A portrait has also reportedly appeared in one of the suites of the department’s senior executives.

An unnamed civil servant told the Canberra Times: "Next they'll be making us curtsey when he comes into the building.”

Mr Abbott, a conservative and self-described "incorrigible Anglophile" , became the first prime minister since John Howard in 1996 to be sworn in with an oath to the Queen during a ceremony in Canberra two weeks ago. Former Labor leaders Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard instead pledged to serve the Commonwealth.

Mr Abbott vocally campaigned against Australia becoming a republic during the referendum in 1999. He wrote in his political memoir that when he first returned to London as a student it “felt like more than a homecoming”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...walkabout.html

Prince Harry charms Australia with walkabout

Prince Harry has deployed his characteristic charm in Sydney during celebrations to mark the centenary of the Australian navy's feet first arrival in the city's harbour.

Prince Harry smiles on-board the HMAS Leeuwin during the 2013 International Fleet Review in Sydney

Thousands of people crowded the shoreline of Sydney harbour to watch as the Prince took part in the procession of warships as part of the International Fleet Review.

He was greeted with cheers and waving flags as he later walked along the waterfront, shaking hand and chatting with members of the public.

Tony Abbott, the Australian Prime Minister also apologised to the Prince for the strong republican movement in the country, but suggested Prince Harry's relaxed approach was helping to win over many in the country.

Prince Harry won praise last year for charming the Jamaican prime minister Portia Simpson Miller after she made staunchly republican comments just hours before they met.

Speaking in front of an audience that included disabled Australian war veterans and Paralympians, Mr Abbott said: "Prince Harry, I regret to say not every Australian is a monarchist. But today everyone feels like a monarchist.

"You grace us as your family has graced our nation from its beginning, as the Crown is a symbol of our stability, continuity and decency in public life."

I don't think it's possible to like Tony Abbott much more - seems the man is keen on carrying on what John Howard started by reinforcing the Monarchy in Australia in terms of public support, and it's working. Back in the 1990s the future of both the Australian flag and the Monarchy were in serious doubt after years of attacks from the Australian the left which led to the conservative PM John Howard introducing a national flag day along with fighting for the Monarchy head on in a referendum.

Isn't it nice to see, for once, the good things in public life being both celebrated and defended?

Thoughts?

[Yawn]

Isn't it nice to see, for once, the good things in public life being both celebrated and defended?

absolutely!

[iBlueBox]

Blimey, Harry looks like his father a lot there!