Anthony Albanese re-gifts Aussie lamingtons to Prince William
Anthony Albanese appeared to commit a cardinal etiquette faux pas during an audience with Prince William at Kensington Palace.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese handed the Prince of Wales a box of lamingtons he had just been gifted from a London restaurant an hour earlier.
The apparent, etiquette-breaking re-gifting occurred at Kensington Palace, where the prime minister extended an open invitation to the Prince William and the rest of the royal family to Australia.
Prince William, however, might be enticed to first make a stop to Paddington to visit Bondi Green, the Australian-run bakery that had gifted the box of lamingtons to Mr Albanese just an hour earlier.
Described by Bondi Green as “light and pillowy”, their lamingtons are filled with “house made jams and luscious changing flavours and fillings” made daily.
The six luxury deserts were presented to Mr Albanese during a tour of the eatery to mark a new Free Trade Agreement, which Bondi Green will benefit from when it kicks in on May 31.
“I’m delighted to be meeting with his royal highness, it’s always a pleasure to meet with the royal family, and I will be inviting him to Australia,” Mr Albanese said before the meeting.
A pleasure to meet with Prince William this afternoon at @KensingtonRoyal Palace in London. pic.twitter.com/4lgwWFiqwj
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 4, 2023
It came after Prince William and Princess Catherine visited a London pub on to pull a pint of Kingmaker ahead the coronation.
The Prince and Princess of Wales dropped into the Dog and Duck in the Soho entertainment district to chat to representatives from the hospitality industry, which is set for a bumper weekend during the coronation.
Prince William, the heir to the throne, pulled the first-ever pint of Kingmaker, a pale ale brewed to celebrate the Coronation.
“You always have the best conversations in pubs - you never know who you are going to meet,” he said.
The 40-year-old prince was handed a full cider glass, joking that he would have to mind how much he drank and “get back into work mode”.
Catherine meanwhile said the excitement for the Coronation was “already starting to build” – and that their eldest child Prince George was “excited” about the ceremony after taking part in rehearsals.
The Dog and Duck, originally built in 1734, is one of the oldest pubs in Soho. To get there, the couple took their first ride on the Elizabeth Line, the new rail line running beneath the British capital, named after William’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II who died in September last year after 70 years on the throne.
They rode three stops, chatting to transport workers about plans for the weekend, when tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on the city.
When asked about the coronation preparations, Kate replied: “Yes, it’s going to be a busy time. We’re getting there. I still feel like we’re trying to get ducks in a row.” William, like his son George, will have an active role in the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
The heir will help his father to don the 1821 Imperial Mantle – a floor-length cloak made of cloth of gold and weighing at least three kilograms.
WHAT AUSSIES WILL DO AT CORONATION
The Australian who helped develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine says she can’t believe “little old me” has been invited to the King’s Coronation on Saturday.
Professor Merryn Voysey, speaking at an event at the Australian Embassy on Thursday (local time), said she will Facetime her proud mother-in-law Vivienne in Brisbane before the ceremony.
“Vivienne was a little girl at the time in the streets watching the Queen’s coronation and she cannot believe I’ve actually got a golden ticket to Westminster Abbey to see the King get crowned close up on the day,” said Ms Voysey.
“I’m humbled and very grateful to be going. Yes, I helped develop the vaccine, but it’s just little old me from Sydney. I never dreamed I’d ever get the call to go to something this big, it thought it would only be for royalty.
“My whole family will be watching out for me from the telly in Australia.”
Mrs Voysey is one of 14 “outstanding” Australians chosen to accompany the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Governor General and High Commissioner on the most important day of the King’s life.
In the ‘Australian corner of Westminster Abbey will also sit comedian, presenter, writer and disability rights advocate Adam Hills MBE.
“I won’t be star struck, I’ll be fangirling everyone, I’ve met these guys before, I’ve met Prince Harry twice before, when I see him, I’ll give him a wink, and Charles knows me, he’s a very funny man himself,” said the host of British comedy show The Last Leg.
Mr Hills, who was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to Paralympic sport and disability awareness last year, added, “I’ll be the one whispering in the abbey, ‘look there’s Macron, oh look, there’s Lionel Richie’.”
Among the 14 attending is Matildas captain and Chelsea FC forward Sam Kerr, the official flag bearer for the ceremony.
“She’s a great sportswoman from Western Australia and I hope that gives her that little bit of oomph to lead Australia to world cup glory in a short period of time,” Mr Albanese told a press conference a day earlier.
COUNTDOWN TO THE CORONATION
It comes as King Charles prepares to hold a luncheon for Commonwealth leaders on Friday in a busy final push before his historic Coronation.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will attend the lunch for ‘Realm Governors General and Prime Ministers’ at Buckingham Palace.
Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales and other working members of the royal family are expected to be at the event.
Mr Albanese publicly doubled down on his commitment to getting rid of the monarchy as Australia’s head of state, despite being accused of hypocrisy for accepting the Coronation invitation.
“I support an Australian as Australia’s head of state,” Mr Albanese said — for the second time this week — while visiting an AUKUS plant in the north of England.
“That doesn’t mean that I don’t respect the institution and it certainly doesn’t mean I don’t respect King Charles.”
Meanwhile, in the lead up to the big event, there has been a flurry of last minute dress rehearsals.
Prince William, Princess Catherine and their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, along with Charles and Camilla, were spotted leaving the Abbey after a run through of proceedings.
Little Louis, five, was pictured sitting next to his father Prince William in the back of a car.
Earlier, champagne corks were popping at King Charles’ first garden party as monarch at Buckingham Palace.
He was joined by Camilla and Edward and Sophie, Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
Camilla looked effortlessly elegant in a navy-and-white coat dress by British fashionista Bruce Oldfield – the designer who is reported to be creating her Coronation gown.
Among the 8000 guests was US singer Lionel Richie, in a top hat, who will be performing at the Coronation concert at Windsor on Sunday.
Richie, 73, who attended with his partner, model Lisa Parigi, 33, told reporters: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To be a part of it is everything.”
“I’ve known His Majesty now for a couple of years.”
Meanwhile, Australians involved in the formal procession at the Abbey were on Friday due to take part in a four-hour rehearsal, while Aussie troops were to rehearse their procession routines at the Army Training Centre Pirbright in Surrey, just outside London.
It comes as the King has directed a change in the wording of official prayers for the royal family, replacing “Camilla the Queen Consort” with “Queen Camilla” from the day of the Coronation.
Buckingham Palace also sought to dampen down growing concerns over the cost of the Coronation, with reports ranging from $90 to $188 million – saying some figures were “more fanciful than others”.
A palace spokesman said the global interest would more than pay for the event.
Further security announcements have also been made in the run up to the Coronation, with The Sun reporting that Britain’s most powerful warship will stand guard on the Thames to shield the King.
HMS Diamond, a Type 45 destroyer can spot and track stealth targets the size of a cricket ball at three times the speed of sound – from 402km away.
The Metropolitan Police early Thursday (AEST) said 29,000 officers have been deployed across the week of the extravaganza, with 11,500 on duty on the day itself.
Police confirmed controversial live facial recognition technology will be used to spot “anybody that could possibly impede or become a risk to the public”, in a move slammed by human rights campaigners.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan warned off potential troublemakers, saying police would have “a very low tolerance of anything or anyone” causing disruption and would dole out “a very swift response”.
Earlier this week Buckingham Palace suspect David Huber, 60, was arrested after allegedly throwing shotgun cartridges into the grounds of the royal residence.
Huber lives on his own and is a dog breeder, according to The Sun.
The Coronation is also causing controversy around the world, after two opposition parliamentarians in Ireland questioned why the Irish national broadcaster RTE was devoting four hours to the event, leading to the Irish premier to call for people to respect those who support the UK monarchy.
Meanwhile, it’s been revealed that Iran has not been invited to Coronation, in a shift from the late Queen’s funeral last year.
The country joins a list that includes Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Syria and Venezuela whose leaders have not been invited to the event this weekend, the PA news agency understands.
One leader that was invited but turned it down was US President Joe Biden. His wife is attending in his place.
THE QUEEN’S STAMP LEGACY
King Charles has ordered the legacy of his mother Queen Elizabeth should live on beyond his Coronation, at least on the stamps being used on postal letters.
And this could take years with the volume of letters in the UK down 25 per cent since Covid-19.
Production of UK stamps featuring the king’s image were issued last month but will only go on sale once post offices and retailers run out of stock featuring the Queen.
Charles’ stamp image was adapted from the one in use on coins and production of stamps began but he personally instructed the Royal Mail they should not go out until stock featuring his mother were fully exhausted.
It was partly an environmental command as it was tradition.
“The King gave very clear directions he didn’t want anything to be pulped, he didn’t want things being shredded, he didn’t want stock being thrown away,” Royal Mail director of external affairs and policy David Gold has said.
“He was very clear, however long it takes to clear the stock, there’s no rush … entirely in line with his well-stated principles of waste and environmentalism.”
Mr Gold said in that tradition, King Charles’ image has him facing left as all monarchs have done since Queen Victoria appeared on the Penny Black – the world’s first postage stamp – in 1840.
“I think there’s an acknowledgment that, for 70 years, people have been so used to seeing the image of Her Majesty – even though the current image only started in 1967 – they didn’t want anything too different,” he said.
The final set using her image was only unveiled in February on a set of stamps marking the 100th anniversary of steam locomotive the Flying Scotsman.
The Queen’s silhouette had featured on special edition stamps since 1966.
Meanwhile coins bearing His Majesty’s image are already in circulation in the UK with banknotes to follow next year. His coin portrait faces to the left, the opposite direction to the late Queen in a tradition that dates back to the 17th Century to alternate which way successive monarchs face.
- with AFP
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Originally published as Anthony Albanese re-gifts Aussie lamingtons to Prince William
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