Foreign knighthoods? As Gough Whitlam once told me “I have five or six of those myself!” (column "There's nothing like a Dame…" 2 January 2008)
This was at a Bastille Day ceremony, when the French Consul – General conferred a knighthood on an Australian.
I turned to Mr.Whitlam and said, with a straight face, “Mr Whitlam, it's your fault Australians have to go to a foreign republic to get a knighthood.”
You see the only objections republicans have to a knighthood is if it is given by our Queen, The Queen of Australia.
Such is the twisted logic of Australian republicans.
It is really quite spiteful.
Now we learn that Kylie Minogue is to receive a French knighthood .
Ms. Minogue, who could just as well be Dame Kylie, is soon to go to Europe.
According to Jonathon Moran writing for News Limited’s papers ( “The knight of Kylie's life,” 4 May, 2008) she is to be knighted on Monday, 5 May 2008 as a Chevalier dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres, a Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters.
Presumably Ms Minogue has received approval for this. We congratulate her warmly for this.
Apparently you may receive a knighthood from a foreign republic.
The only thing forbidden is to receive one from our own Sovereign.
And those are the ones which attract the most attention.