Reminder That Voters Can Get A Free Poster Of The Late Queen To Hang Up In Their Sharehouse
New posters of King Charles will eventually be rolled out.
Four years ago, Australians lost their minds discovering that they were entitled to a free portrait of the Queen, simply by contacting their elected Member of Parliament.
The Constituents’ Request Program allows voters to access ‘nationhood material’: including booklets on the flags of Australia, booklets on Australia’s national symbols, compact discs and DVD recordings of the Australian national anthem, and yes, portraits of Her late Majesty the Queen.
The memorabilia offer has been sitting peacefully in legislation, undisturbed, and only acted upon by a small minority who actually know the Constitution. However, one fateful, sunny day in August 2018, everything changed when VICE Australia published a piece informing the nation of their legal entitlement.
Accidentally emailed my State MP for my Queen Elizabeth portrait after @VICEAU didn’t clarify but I’m also extremely satisfied with this tech illiterate compromise pic.twitter.com/htYLfakZSS
— Millie Roberts (@milianne_r) August 10, 2018
The aftermath was unprecedented — MPs complained of a mountain of requests labelled as vitriol of “spam” and “trolling” as everyone tried to get their paws on one.
“I can say before the story was published, I had received zero requests for portraits of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth,” said Labor MP Tim Watts at the time. “The last 24 hours, I would say about four dozen. I think 99 percent were tongue firmly in cheek.”
It’s a notable gift offered only in Australia: UK citizens have to pay for them, while Canadians can only download the official portrait, and other Commonwealth countries aren’t entitled to anything full stop, as VICE reported.
The portraits have to be personally picked up, but can be arranged by sending an email or calling your MP’s office, as the Prime Minister’s electorate has been encouraged to do.
On Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II died “peacefully” in Scotland, aged 96 years old, after 70 years on the throne. As King Charles prepares for his coronation, a transition towards his likeness in physical items from currency to constituent posters is now underway.
Malcolm Turnbull tearing up talking about the Queen’s remarkable life, on @abcnews channel. He said he got the Queen’s portrait out last night and reflected on her service.
— amanda meade (@meadea) September 9, 2022
In Parliament House sits a painted portrait in their art collection by William Alexander Dargie as part of the Historic Memorials Collection. Public service buildings have started covering up framed images of the Queen with black sheets. However, as of Friday, voters can still pick up portraits of the Queen, with electorate offices on standby to hear what happens next with the King Charles replacements.
Junkee reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Federal Ministerial and Parliamentary Services about the transition and timeline to update Commonwealth portraits to His Majesty The King.