Sideshow Alley: hats off to curtseygate
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Not since Paul Keating groped the Queen has a nation been so embarrassed by our prime minister’s response to the nation’s head of state. Or perhaps more accurately, dying of shame at the media’s coverage of this shit storm in a Royal Dalton tea cup. You loyal subjects of Great Britain have spoken — it’s hats off to the media’s coverage of Julia Gillard bowing, rather than curtseying, before Queen Elizabeth II. Not to mention daring to not wear a hat.
Pretty much all the media outlets piled in on this one — but in a nutshell, it went along these lines: Gillard did not consider curtseying when greeting the Queen. The British press then dutifully reported on the manufactured controversy. Sky News UK:
With all the star players:
Just so you know, not that it matters apparently, curtsying to the Queen isn’t mandatory any more, according to royal protocol, although many women do choose to greet the Queen that way. “The protocol advice to us was you either curtsy or bow your head, you should do what you’re comfortable with and that’s what I was comfortable with,” Gillard explained. Off with her (hatless) head, we say. But wait — another woman got done for this just a few months ago. Let’s cut to Bill O’Reilly on First Lady Michelle Obama, who also didn’t curtsey and also felt up the Queen. As O’Reilly put it:
The British forgave her, apparently. Not so Gillard, if The Daily Mail is to be believed:
Our sentiments are probably best expressed by First Dog on the Moon’s cartoon yesterday. |
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23 Comments
A self-confessed republican, no less.
I wonder if Rudd curtseyed? Quick! To the Grattan-mobile …
For accuracy, try Royal Doulton not Dalton. There’s sufficient ignorance amongst the Oz media Crikey, please don’t add to it.
Another “media beat-off”?
GOOD Grief another storm in a teacup albeit a Royal Doulton teacup!!!
There is not one person on this earth that I would feel obliged to courtesy to… nope not the Pope not the Dalai Llama and not the Queen. GO JULIA!!! YOU HAVE DONE ONE THING THAT I CAN APPLAUD YOU FOR.
Here we have a German immigrant from the Saxe-Coburg & Gotha lineage ( Prince Albert ) who married Victoria (from the House of Hanover- yet another German family) and we are expected to courtesy to their children and grandchildren.
Sorry Aussie’s are irreverent larrikins - the whole world knows that- and proud of it too.
For anyone who is interested this is the info http://www.royal.gov.uk/TemplateAssets/scheme7/banner01.gif
The name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha came to the British Royal Family in 1840 with the marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert, son of Ernst, Duke of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha. Queen Victoria herself remained a member of the House of Hanover.
The only British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was King Edward VII, who reigned for nine years at the beginning of the modern age in the early years of the twentieth century.
King George V replaced the German-sounding title with that of Windsor during the First World War. The name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha survived in other European monarchies, including the current Belgian Royal Family and the former monarchies of Portugal and Bulgaria.
In other words the Germans may not have won the world wars, but they sure put their people in high places in fact
most if not all of the European “Royal” houses have Germans sitting/ruling in them. I actually think it’s quite funny that people don’t know or don’t realise this… as you may have noticed I am a republican. Having said that I have nothing against the Queen, she has exemplified dignity, courage and has served well especially in organising a Commonwealth of Nations.
Apparently Tony Abbott didn’t bow when he met the Queen. Did that get a front page from News? Shocking! Outrageous!
Weird that our self-confessed republican PM knows more about royal doltin’ protocol than self-confessed monarchists.
Mark from Melbourne,
Nor did he wear a hat.
Actually didn’t he have his speedo cozzie on??
I am shocked - yes and appalled- again … I am seething with righteous indignation at this brutal and malicious slur against Mrs Betty Saxe-Coburg Gotha (aka Elizabeth II aka Elizabeth Windsor) and everything she stands for. Hatless! Grovell-free! I am concussed with outrage on Her Majestial behalf.
I look forward with pleasure to the live coverage of the moment when that lovely Mr Abbott meets Her Majesteriousness… a flowing curtsey?… not enough … I’m expecting a full body prostration to permit the Queen (and maybe the Royal Foreigner Phil) to walk across his rippling svelte back.
Can’t think of anything lower than that.
They could have sent “Bob Hatter”?
Did Gillard wear stockings?
Was she bare-legged, as well as lacking hat and manners?
Why did she choose to embarrass Australians by demonstrating her own personal views?
Are not PM’s supposed to comply with protocol?
No-one expected a full curtsey drop, however, plain courtesy and civility demands she at least do a decent ‘bob’ and lower head head.
Instead, Gillard should lower her head in Shame.
What a rude, uncouth person she has proved to be.
Fluff…
“No-one expected a full curtsey drop, however, plain courtesy and civility demands she at least do a decent ‘bob’ and lower (her) head.”
Well I did!!! But that’s not enough now.
I demand that she hurl herself onto the ground and shower her head with gravel in supplication of a real woman of destiny - a woman whose brand has never gone out of style, a woman anointed by GOD - yes that’s right GOD … to rule us all and the waves and some other bits.
A model of English womanhood who can trace her lineage all the way back to Germany… not that far back actually.
Still Gillard might get away with it. I don’t think the Queen has every seen a woman not wearing a hat. If she was wearing a nice pants suit, her majesty might have guessed she was a bloke. Phew.
After all who’s ever heard of a woman head of state.
Our Prime Minister complied with protocol, she bowed her head respectfully and gently clasped the hand extended to her by the Queen. She then exchanged polite small talk with Her Majesty on non-controversial matters. On the other hand, the Leader of the Opposition gave the Queen a very cursory nod, grabbed her hand and shook it vigourously for too long. When he finally released her hand she snatched it back and cradled it carefully in her other hand. As a sufferer of arthritus myself and although I am some six years younger than the Queen I winced in sympathy with what appeared to be a very painful contact. The Monarch is unambigously a-political, political discussion is an absolute n0-no.
At the formal recption he quoted Archbishop Mannix and even suggested that the throne of England should not be barred to Roman Catholics - this to the Head of the Anglican Church.
Ouch - who brung him?
@Gratton Wilson, thank you for elucidating on the matter, I am currently in Paris and Oz hardly features here, so much so that the BBC ‘s world weather does not even include Australia. I can’t believe that Tony Abbott did that and was not hauled over the coals for his coarseness and rudeness. But then our media likes the blokes but when it comes to the
women, they sharpen their knives. Sooo over the media sooo over their distortion, spin and slander! But that’s why I subscribe to Crikey…. and also because there are quite a few interesting people like you and Peter Ormonde who participate in debates in a civilised and or humourous manner!!
Tony Abbott did ‘bob’ his head - in the doorway, albeit briefly.
I thought him very nervous (& who wouldn’t be?), so that he seemed to almost stumble when he stopped in the doorway & ‘bobbed’ his head before continuing (what must have seemed) the very long walk to Her Majesty.
Both ‘leaders’ shd first have practiced their royal approach in their offices.
When meeting our gracious, respected and well-loved Queen, nerves would make it difficult to await the door opening, begin to move forward, AND then (in the rush of nervous energy) remember to stop absolutely still & ‘bob’/bow the head, before moving forward again. The distance away from the Queen must have seemed a Mile! Tony Abbott nearly got it right. At least he tried!
Whereas Ms Gillard did not ‘bob’ her head - she merely moved her torso slightly forward with neck slightly stretched as one does when greeting a shorter person in such a noisy location. Our Queen is not tall in height, but certainly in stature.
Had Ms Gillard worn a hat, her hair would not have blown all over the place, requiring her to try pushing it out of her face, when meeting the Queen.
Tony Abbott tried, Julia Gillard did not try.
Fluffs …
“Tony Abbott tried, Julia Gillard did not try.”
And doesn’t just that say so much about the woman and the state of the nation - such as it is.
Here we have our beloved monarch - her royal highness - hauling her arthritic and cruelly misshapen majestic frame all the way over to this dusty dominion, listening to yet another brass band doing that bl**dy anthem, cowering from another 21 howitzers pounding the living daylights out of the parrots and our “illegitimate - scarlet-coiffed” hussy doesn’t even make the effort to put up a decent grovel. It’s so shocking I am tempted to drive the Hillman all the way down to Cambra in protest.
Who’s with me?
Fluffynut you are biased towards Tony and who cares if Julia’s hair had to be swept away from her face?? Every woman does that every minute of the day. the Queen God bless her and us, is as short as me 1.55 I didn’t curtsy and bob when I was invited to a June tea party at the back of Buck Palace. I think all of this carry on for a normal human being, who has to eat and take a leak just like everyone else is really of no value and certainly has no substance. Respect is shown not by bobbing and curtsying and all of the obsequious mannerisms and postures of olde ..it is shown by friendly eye contact and gentle kindly words. Surely the days of bobbing around and curtsying are over now… or are some of us still living in the dark ages? And for good measure surely we have a lot more important things to worry about than this trifle so over and out on this one.
The ABC showed its class as a biased tabloid broadcaster. Their headline screamed “Off with her head”.
I too noticed that not only didn’t Tony Abbott curtsy he couldn’t manage a nod of the head either, and came into the room where the queen was ensconced with the demeanour of a boxer. I am waiting for the howls of outrage from the press that was so shocked that a Prime Ministerial woman dared to adopt a less fawning approach than their own. I await the baying at the moon.
I think indeed that it was a storm in a thimble.
Well said Tom Jones, again it is the press and their distortion, spin and slander that programme mediocre minds, or perhaps immature minds, that are unable to think for themselves. If I were Julia I would very, very quickly have that commission into the Murdoch press and their phone hacking and other criminal activities ….not the least of it is the propaganda that they spread which like a virus contaminates many minds to believe that black is white and vice versa. There is such a thing as karma however, and I am awaiting the not too far away day, when they are obliged to subject themselves to that… yes Karma or what goes round comes round, you reap what you sow etc… called the Law of Cause and Effect.
Did I really see the Rabbott holding hands with his wife as they walked behind the Queen out of that reception last night? Surely that has to be some sort of protocol breach. Or maybe Margie had to hang on to him to stop him running off.
And there’s more - Abbott wore the same outfit to the reception that he wore to his audience with Her Majesty yesterday morning. Imagine the howls of outrage from the fashion police and the protocolistas if the Prime Minister had done the same thing.
Why didn’t Abbott change? Did he really spend all day in a bar getting ‘relaxed and comfortable’ enough to make his speech last night? Did he get beetroot on his other shirt? Did Margie forget to pack two shirts?
Fluffynut
Abbott certainly bobbed his head when he felched her queenness and I hope you appreciated his efforts. Gillard didn’t even try, probably because she wasn’t nervous like Abbott.
You’re quite right. We shall all vote Abbott from now on.
Television seems to have censored that bit with Abbott shaking the queen’s hand. It’s either no handshake at all, or if the long vigourous handshake is shown, the film immediately cuts to them sitting down. The bit where the queen snatches her hand back and cradles it with her other hand is not being shown.
I guess I wasn’t the only person who winced in sympathy.