The palace letters reveal a litany of depredations in the most extraordinary undermining of elected government
If you thought Sir John Kerr’s reputation couldn’t sink any lower, think again. The palace letters have brought Kerr’s extensive, even obsessive, “reporting” to the Queen into sharp relief, placing Kerr himself and his peculiar conception of his role as governor general under intense scrutiny. They have not held up well.
In letters ranging from deferential to obsequious, Kerr is revealed as insecure, indiscreet, easily led by flattery, and expertly played by the supercilious, seasoned palace courtier, the Queen’s private secretary Sir Martin Charteris. And the constant theme throughout is Kerr’s disparaging of the government and the prime minister, Gough Whitlam. Never was a man less suited to the position of governor general.
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