Category Archives: Queen Elizabeth II

Australia news live: review into Stuart Ayres over Barilaro hiring finds no breach of ministerial conduct

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Ayres stepped aside as deputy NSW Liberal leader and trade minister after a separate report into the controversial trade posting of John Barilaro. Follow all the day’s news live

Australia’s high commissioner to the UK meets with King Charles

Australia’s acting high commissioner to the UK Lynette Wood has had an audience with King Charles III.

Really what matters is we have the best possible person for the job, who can advance Australia’s interests in the best possible way, and that certainly needs a thorough and robust process to choose that person.

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Queen public holiday: Australian business groups express concern over lost revenue and staffing disruptions

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Industry bodies join medical association in criticising Albanese government over notice for national day of mourning after death of Queen Elizabeth

Australian retail and business groups have joined the medical association in raising concerns about disruptions caused by the public holiday to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II after her death on 8 September.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, made the announcement on Sunday that a “one-off public holiday” would be held on 22 September as a national day of mourning, after the Queen’s funeral on 19 September.

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Albanese says ‘inappropriate’ to discuss republic now but doesn’t rule out future referendum

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Prime minister says vote to recognise Indigenous Australians in the constitution comes before any referendum on republic

Anthony Albanese has not ruled out holding a referendum on the republic if he is re-elected, saying only that it was “inappropriate” to discuss while commemorating Queen Elizabeth II.

Albanese made the remarks on Monday in a round of interviews defending plans to hold a national day of mourning public holiday on 22 September.

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Foreign dignitaries must share buses to travel to the Queen’s funeral

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Government guidance sets out strict rules urging international royalty and presidents to travel by commercial flights

Foreign heads of state arriving for the Queen’s funeral must travel by bus en masse to Westminster Abbey, rather than using private cars, according to newly issued government guidance.

The documents, seen by the Guardian, set out strict rules for the dozens of international presidents, kings, queens and prime ministers expected to attend the funeral, urging them to travel by commercial flights to avoid swamping London’s airports.

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‘We had to be here’: crowds bid farewell to Queen on her final Scottish journey

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As Queen Elizabeth II’s cortege drove from Balmoral to Edinburgh, well-wishers from near and far paid understated tribute

The hush had settled on the waiting crowd even before the Queen’s cortege appeared over the rise in the road from Balmoral. An oblivious toddler chattered into the silence on Ballater main street, where the country’s longest-serving monarch shopped for barbecue sausages at the local butcher.

It was a typically Highland farewell to a woman those lining the village streets considered a treasured neighbour: deeply felt, but understated in its expression. There was no applause, no spontaneous chorus of anthem or hymn as the coffin passed by sedately, and all eyes were pulled to the east to follow it beyond sight. Then, as though released from a trance, the bystanders turned to nod to friends and disperse promptly, leaving behind the metal crowd barriers, taking home the weight of their loss.

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Anthony Albanese says ‘now not the time’ to discuss republic

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Australia’s prime minister prepares to pay his respects to Queen Elizabeth II in the UK this week after announcing national day of mourning

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says “now is not the time” to discuss Australia becoming a republic, saying it is time of national mourning.

Albanese, who has previously expressed support for Australia becoming a republic had said any referendum on the topic would take second seat to an Indigenous voice to parliament.

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Queen’s coffin at rest in Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh as final journey begins – live

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Public will be able to pay their respects to the Queen in St Giles Cathedral in the Scottish capital on Monday

Labour will go ahead with its autumn conference later this month, as officials, advisers and politicians from all parties attempt to balance paying their respects to the Queen with avoiding a period of political paralysis.

The Queen’s death and period of mourning has come at a moment of acute political tension, with concerns over the behaviour of Liz Truss’s new administration in Whitehall and significant gaps in the details of her energy price cap, set to cost well over £100bn.

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Canaletto masterpiece has starring role at the proclamation of King Charles

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The painter’s view of Venice, now in St James’s Palace, once hung in George III’s bedroom

The father of the artist Canaletto painted stage scenery, and the theatrical tricks with light and perspective that he passed on to his famous son were evident in the splendid backdrop to the meeting of the accession council on Saturday in St James’s Palace.

The oil painting that featured so prominently was painted in 1744 and bought by George III in 1762. The Grand Canal With Santa Maria della Salute Looking East Towards the Bacino shows the great church of Santa Maria della Salute towering over the water in the strong morning sun. Measuring more that 2 metres (7 feet) wide, it was signed by the artist – real name Giovanni Antonio Canal – on the moored barge at the front of the composition.

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Queen’s coffin leaves Balmoral en route to Edinburgh

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Cortege passing through villages of Royal Deeside where many considered monarch a dear neighbour

The Queen has commenced her final journey from her beloved Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire and is heading down the north-east coast to Edinburgh.

The cortege carrying her coffin left Balmoral at about 10am and was making slow progress through the villages of Royal Deeside, allowing the thousands who lined the route to bid a final farewell to the country’s longest-serving monarch and the woman many locally considered a dear neighbour.

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Governor general proclaims King Charles III as Australia’s head of state – As it happened

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Anthony Albanese has set 22 September as National Memorial Service Day for Queen Elizabeth II. This blog is now closed

Howard says the popularity of the Queen was the key reason behind the republican movement failing, but that the monarchy offers stability.

I think there’s also a keener appreciation of the value of the institution and its strength. People look around the world at the moment and the alternative governance systems on offer, everyone in democracies, don’t look all that flash on occasions. I think the strength and durability and flexibility of the constitutional monarchy is something that more people appreciate than is imagined.

That is fair enough. It’s a democracy. People can argue for change. My observation is the strength of the monarchy in Australia was immeasurably increased by the personal popularity of the Queen.

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Australia to have public holiday to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Anthony Albanese announces

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Thursday 22 September to be a one-off national holiday and will coincide with a memorial ceremony in Canberra

Australians will get a one-off public holiday as a national day of mourning to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced.

Appearing on the ABC’s Insiders on Sunday morning, Albanese said Thursday 22 September, which coincides with a memorial service for the Queen, would be a national public holiday.

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Jacinda Ardern expects New Zealand’s royal ties to ‘deepen’ under King Charles III

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New Zealand and Australia hold ceremonies to recognise new head of state and pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

Australia and New Zealand have held proclamation ceremonies for the new head of state King Charles III, with New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern saying she expected her country’s relationship with the royal family to “deepen”, and Australia declaring a one-off public holiday as a national day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II.

New Zealand held its formal ceremony on parliament’s grounds, with the proceedings led by governer general Cindy Kiro and Ardern, beginning with the national anthem and a prayer in te reo Māori – the Indigenous language.

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King Charles III formally proclaimed Australia’s head of state in Parliament House ceremony

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Governor general David Hurley says the passing of Queen Elizabeth II is the end of an era, and Australia is an ‘unfinished product’

Australia has proclaimed the ascension of King Charles III, with hundreds of people lining the forecourt and streets around Parliament House to watch the formal ceremony on Sunday.

The federal executive council, which performs functions similar to that of the privy council in the United Kingdom and is made up of the ministers of government and the governor general, met on Sunday in Government House, where the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, recommended the ascension to the governor general, David Hurley.

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Antigua and Barbuda to hold republic referendum within three years, says PM

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Prime minister Gaston Browne reiterates plan for referendum in wake of Queen’s death

The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, has said he will call for a referendum on the country becoming a republic within three years, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Browne signed a document confirming Charles III’s status as the new King, but minutes later, said he would push for a republic referendum after indicating such a move earlier this year during a visit by the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

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‘Collector’s item’: Australians utilise quirk that entitles citizens to free portrait of the Queen

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Under little-known nationhood obligation, MPs supply patriotic objects including flags, national anthem recordings and portraits of the monarch

When Helen Browne woke to the news of the Queen’s death, she rang her federal MP.

Browne was hoping to secure one of the last complimentary portraits of Elizabeth II on offer in Australia, part of a little-known entitlement to citizens under a nationhood obligation.

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King Charles III: royal family, including Anne, Andrew and Edward, greet wellwishers at Balmoral – live

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Charles publicly declared new monarch in series of proclamations after historic meeting of accession council

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have charted a path for themselves in California with King Charles’s stamp of approval. Will the Queen’s death change Meghan and Harry’s new chapter?

Lois Beckett writes:

The couple live in the celebrity enclave of Montecito, in a mansion reportedly purchased for $14.65m and have started Archewell, a combination of nonprofit and for-profit ventures that aims to “unleash the power of compassion to drive systemic cultural change”.

In a move that echoes the post-White House ambitions of Barack and Michelle Obama, the pair signed a reported $100m, multi-year deal with Netflix to produce TV shows, films and children’s programs. Meghan launched a Spotify podcast Archetypes, featuring interviews with American celebrity royalty such as Serena Williams, Mariah Carey and Mindy Kaling.

The duo is engaged in several humanitarian organizations, including Harry’s Invictus games, and frequently speak out on public issues…

More scrutiny of Windsor family dynamics and the role these two royal dissenters might play in the reign of Harry’s 73-year-old father, Charles III, is likely, especially given the anticipated release of Harry’s memoir, which is expected to delve into the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death, and Harry and Meghan’s life in the UK before their departure to California.

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Class or crass? Brands walk a fine line in marking Queen’s death

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Posts by Playmobil and Legoland Windsor provoked comment, as did the Queen Elizabeth II workout

Content is king, in #marketingspeak at least, but many brands have discovered that the Queen is not content.

In the tumult of reaction to news of the Queen’s death, social media managers struggled to work out the best way to communicate to their customers.

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Queen’s death intensifies criticism of British empire’s violent atrocities

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American commentators, academics and others are calling into reconsideration of monarchy’s lasting influences

The death of Queen Elizabeth II revived longstanding criticism in the US over the monarchy’s enrichment from the British empire’s violent colonization of African, Asian and Caribbean nations and their diasporas.

Since her death on Thursday, American commentators, academics, and a former US diplomat, among others, took to social media and elsewhere to call for fully wrestling with the British monarchy’s lasting influence in light of the monarch’s death.

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Australian travel industry braces for ‘influx’ as royalists plan to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

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Guardian Australia understands the few remaining Qantas seats from Australian capital cities to London have been quickly booked since the news of monarch’s death

Australia’s travel industry says it is bracing for an “influx” of Australians deciding to travel to London to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

Guardian Australia understands the very few remaining Qantas seats from Australian capital cities to London have been quickly booked since the news of the Queen’s death. Peter Hosper, the commercial director of Travel Authority Group, said his agency was preparing for more inquiries on Monday.

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PM hails monarch as ‘absolute inspiration’ as leaders lay wreaths at Parliament House – as it happened

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Prime minister, opposition leader and governor general take part in ceremony. This blog is now closed

Prime minister Anthony Albanese and the governor general, David Hurley, are now walking towards the statue of the Queen, together with speaker of the house Milton Dick.

A crowd of parliamentarians and dignitaries are gathering at the Queen’s Terrace area of Canberra’s Parliament House, where a wreath-laying ceremony will take place at a statue of Queen Elizabeth.

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