- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Prince Charles Supported Move by Queen's Representative to Sack Australian PM in 1975, UK Media Says

© AP Photo / Jeff Spicer/PABritain's Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales after laying a wreath during Remembrance Day at the Guards' Memorial in London, Sunday Nov. 12, 2017
Britain's Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales after laying a wreath during Remembrance Day at the Guards' Memorial in London, Sunday Nov. 12, 2017 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Prince Charles' words of sympathy for the Queen's representative in Australia came just four months after the ouster of the Whitlam cabinet, which resulted in a constitutional crisis in the country in the mid-1970s.

The Daily Mail has cited newly released private letters as saying that in 1976, the UK's Prince Charles signalled his support for the 1975 dismissal of then-Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.  

In a March 1976 letter to Governor-General Sir John Kerr, the Queen's representative, the 27-year-old prince expressed sympathy for the governor-general's decision.

"Please don't lose heart. What you did last year was right and the courageous thing to do and most Australians seemed to endorse your decision when it came to the point", Charles argued.

He added that he "wanted to write and say how much" he sympathises with Kerr, urging the Queen's representative "not to worry about these demonstrations and stupidities", or become "depressed or dejected with your role".

"I imagine that you must have come in for all sorts of misinformed criticism and prejudice", Charles added, pointing to his own experience and singling out a "demonstration" or "scene of one sort or another" against him.

The letter came four months after Kerr ousting Whitlam's government hit by scandals and economic meltdown.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles attend the State Opening of Parliament in central London, Britain June 21, 2017.  - Sputnik International
Royal Purge: Prince Charles Reportedly Plans to Slim Down Monarchy, Kick Out Some Family Members
The move by the Queen's representative, which led to a constitutional crisis in Australia, followed the country’s opposition calling on Sir John to intervene and sack Whitlam unless he agreed to announce early elections.

As far as Prince Charles' decision to support Kerr is concerned, it was apparently out of sync with royal protocol, given that the Queen has always maintained a strict policy of non-interference in Australian politics.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала