The Queen bestows Order of Merit upon John Howard

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard has been presented with a rare and exclusive accolade from the Queen of Australia. During a meeting with the Monarch at Buckingham Palace, John Howard received the insignia of a member of the Order of Merit. Appointments to the Order are the Sovereign's personal gift and no ministerial advice is required. The Order is restricted to 24 members as well as additional foreign recipients. Appointments can only be made when a member dies. The Honourable John Howard O.M., A.C., S.S.I. and British artist David Hockney O.M., C.H., R.A., who was also appointed on 1st January 2012, take places left by the death of artist Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH (8th December 1922 – 20th July 2011) and Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE (7th November 1926 – 10th October 2010).

John Howard: "It's a very nice honour and I feel particularly touched that I should have received it. I am touched by the personal compliment but I also see it very much as a mark of the Queen's great affection and esteem for Australia.


"What I did, of course, I did as an Australian and as prime minister of the country. It was the greatest privilege anybody can have to be prime minister of Australia and I certainly see it very much as a mark of respect for our country."

John Howard and ecologist Robert May, Baron May of Oxford, OM, AC, FRS (* 8th January 1938), an Australian scientist who has been Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government, are the only current Australian members of the Order, while opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland and Sir Sidney Robert Nolan OM, AC (22 April 1917 – 28 November 1992), one of Australia's best-known painters and printmakers, are among past recipients. John Howard was accompanied to Buckingham Palace by his wife Janette and youngest son Richard.

Having already been appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia, and receiving the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, protocol will see the latest honour take precedence on the chest of Australia's 25th prime minister.

You could have guessed it

The Queen's decision to award former Australian Prime Minister John Howard one of the highest honours in the Commonwealth was not well received by The Age: It's an honour, Mr Howard. Why?

Mr. Howard had been appointed to the Order of Merit. The Order of Merit, founded by 1902 by King Edward VII, is a special mark of honour conferred by the Sovereign on individuals of exceptional distinction in the arts, learning, sciences and other areas such as public service. Appointments to the Order are the Sovereign's personal gift and ministerial advice is not required. The Order is restricted to 24 members as well as additional foreign recipients. It is in the personal gift of The Queen as Sovereign of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and twelve other countries.


Appointments can only be made when a member dies. John Howard and British artist David Hockney take places left by the death of artist Lucian Michael Freud, OM, CH (8th December 1922 – 20th July 2011) and Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE (7th November 1926 – 10th October 2010).

While in The Age's internet poll 51 percent agreed that John Howard is deserving to become a member of the Order of Merit, 100 percent of the letters to the editor (all in all seven) published today were against John Howard and the Australian Monarchy. The silliest of all came from Lyn Mitchell: "Now it's definitively time to become a republic." Only she and The Age's editor might draw a connection between honouring a retired politician and introducing a politicians' republic.

A Royal Auction of William Tallon’s collection
William Tallon’s collection, a legacy of more than fifty years service, was auctioned Saturday, 5th July 2008. The servant who had joined the royal household in 1951 was devoted to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. He had collected bits and pieces, souvenirs of a lifelong service for all members of the Royal Family. And they thanked him in different ways. He collected memorabilia: Photos, invitation cards, notes, gifts and trinkets. Everything went under the hammer. About 400 buyers and spectators crowded into the Reeman Dansie auction room in Colchester, Essex, with others bidding from around the world by telephone and internet. The auction lasted more than ten hours and took nearly double the pre-sale estimates.

Among the treasure trove of 700 items was a note from the Queen Mother, known for enjoying a tipple, instructing Mr Tallon to pack "two small bottles of Dubonnet and gin ... in case it is needed".

Expected to fetch up to $617, it eventually went to a phone bidder for $33,000.
Top-priced item was a portrait of the Queen Mother by Sir James Gunn, dated November 1945, which went for $61,700 - five times its top pre-sale estimate.

The frenzied auction attracted even the attention of the ABC, which is surprising considering that when the Queen Mother died, the ABC did not have time to show much of the state ceremony surrounding the funeral of the former Australian sovereign, because the time was needed to broadcast an old Cary Grant film, this despite a large number of complaints. The ABC as usual failed to see that it has a duty to cover State events involving the Australian Royal Family.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother celebrated Her 100th birthday on 4 August 2000. Born the Honourable Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother was one of the most popular and admired members of the British royal family. She was the widow of King George VI and mother of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret.

To mark her 100th birthday Australia Post issued a special souvenir cover shown above. The cover featured Australia Post’s 1999 Queen’s Birthday stamp which also celebrated the life of the Queen Mother. The stamp features images of both the Queen and the Queen Mother and was the first time mother and daughter had appeared together on an Australian stamp.

After the Queen Mother's death in 2002 The Age reported then Prime Minister John Howard cited her visits to Australia in 1927, 1949, 1958 and 1966. "The Queen Mother's connection with Australia was very regular," he said. "She was a well-loved member of the royal family, a deeply revered lady around the world and a gracious and impressive person." Then Opposition leader Simon Crean said the Queen Mother had earned the public's respect. He said her reign and Australia's federation had seen profound changes in the monarchy.