WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Just hours ahead of King Charles III’s anticipated arrival in Australia last week, Australian lawmaker Patrick Gorman took to social media to announce an offer of free printed portraits of the British royal for any constituents who came to his Perth office to claim one.
Gorman, who serves as an assistant minister in Australia’s federal government, mentioned that several enthusiastic constituents showed up to request the portraits.
The images of King Charles are provided under a somewhat obscure government regulation that allows every Australian citizen to request and receive a portrait of their head of state.
This phenomenon is particularly notable in a country where sentiments towards the British monarchy are becoming increasingly mixed, especially regarding their role as Australia’s ceremonial leaders.
In contrast, while British institutions are permitted to request portraits of King Charles, the same is not typically available to individuals. For instance, in New Zealand, free portraits are offered for digital download only, whereas Canadians have the option to obtain a printed version from a monarchy-supporting organization, though this entails a fee for postage.
Australians, however, can directly visit their local federal representative’s office to make such a request.
Interest in portraits of Queen Elizabeth II surged following her passing in 2022. Recent Australian government documents, released by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, indicated that officials had been awaiting the delivery of an official portrait of King Charles from Buckingham Palace for almost a year after the Queen’s death.
This portrait was finally received in July of this year. Since its introduction, over 17,000 copies have been distributed to lawmakers, according to information provided by the Department of Finance.
However, figures regarding the number of requests made by the general public remain unavailable.
Lawmakers occasionally find themselves overwhelmed, handling dozens of requests every time the offer is announced.
Tim Watts, who currently serves as the associate minister for foreign affairs, expressed his frustration on social media back in 2018, stating that addressing requests for portraits was “comfortably the dumbest part of my job.”
While some individuals may approach their requests in a lighthearted manner, Gorman noted that there is a genuine interest for the portraits as well.
He mentioned that he has personally provided 85 portraits of King Charles since they became accessible and that his colleagues in parliament reported similarly high levels of interest.