Scott Morrison recalls gifting Queen Elizabeth II signed biography of racehorse Winx

Scott Morrison has said Queen Elizabeth behaved “like a schoolgirl” during a meeting he had with her in Buckingham Palace in 2019.

Scott Morrison has said Queen Elizabeth behaved “like a schoolgirl” after he gifted her a signed biography of a race horse during a visit to Buckingham Palace.

The ex-Prime Minister described his interactions with the late Queen and his admiration for her during an interview on Sky News Australia on Friday.

Mr Morrison was granted an audience with Queen Elizabeth in May 2019, a month after he led the Coalition to victory in that year‘s federal election.

Ex-prime minister Scott Morrison met the Queen a number of times, including at Windsor Castle in 2021. (Photo by Steve Parsons / POOL / AFP)

He said he had been unsure of what to gift Elizabeth before speaking with former Prime Minister John Howard, who had suggested something to do with horses.

“Before we went to Buckingham Palace the first time I rang John and said ‘What do you give the Queen?’” Mr Morrison said.

“She loves her horses, and so you know, we came up with the idea of the Winx biography.

“And so we brought it along and I had it in the little bag there as we met, we were bowing and holding this bag.

“We mentioned it and she was pretty keen to pull it out. Like a schoolgirl, she‘s flicking through and looking at the photos.”

Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP gave the Queen a signed copy of the official biography of champion racehorse Winx during his meeting with her at Buckingham Palace. pic.twitter.com/1r9CrscccI

— news.com.au (@newscomauHQ) June 5, 2019

Winx is a retired racehorse that won a number of high stakes races between 2014 and 2018.

Queen Elizabeth was an avid horse fan who enjoyed going to the races.

“When she'd be at the races … she couldn’t hold back when one of her favourites was doing well,” Mr Morrison said.

However Mr Morrison also said the Queen had an air of “regal humility” about her.

“I’d describe it as a regal humility, which is hard to get the balance of,” he said.

“She was always, once you met with her, she was always the Queen. It’s not like she sort of pretended to be ... regular folk.

“No, no, you knew she was the Queen – but she was able to transcend that and engage in a very humble way.”

Earlier on Friday, Mr Morrison told the radio station 2GB the Queen had a keen interest in Australia, including life in regional areas.

“She was quite in awe ... particularly (of) our rural communities, who she knew well, and she understood drought, she understood the challenges of farmers,” he said.

“She loved those little communities. And she would always ask after them ... She asked me about the mouse plague when I was there.

“That’s the sort of level of interest that she had in Australia.”

Originally published as Scott Morrison recalls gifting Queen Elizabeth II signed biography of racehorse Winx