The Queen of Australia
We have been suggesting that TV executives should stop listening to republican propaganda and realise that there are ratings in the Royal Family. And as these programmes cost next to nothing, only a foolish executive would avoid them. The same is true of newspapers, who present a bare minimum of stories and photographs about the Royal Family.
The executives should stop reading the Mike Carltons, the Peter FitzSimons, the Philip Adams, the Leo Schofields and the other members of the commentariat who have a visceral hatred of royalty and argue nobody’s interested. They have been constantly shown to be wrong. The ABC, if it wants to remain the national broadcaster, should ensure it shows all those great occasions concerning our Queen. As the columnist , Harold, writing in that excellent on line column on royalty, [email protected] wrote recently, the Trooping of the Colour is to be broadcast in Germany- why not in this Realm, the Commonwealth of Australia, where Elizabeth reigns as Queen? So why doesn’t the ABC show the Trooping of the colour in The Queen’s eightieth year?
Well, as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. As we predicted in this column, the first part of the BBC two part series, “The Queen at 80”, broadcast on Sunday, 11 June 2006 at 730PM on the ABC was sure to attract far more attention and interest than the predictable republican stunts timed for the official Queen’s Birthday. Whether it was some politicians calling for the abolition of the Queen’s Birthday, whether it was the opening of a new republican office, whether it was a new governor saying a republic was inevitable, they all paled in comparison to interest-and respect –Australians have in their Sovereign Lady The Queen.
And the programme had serious competition. It was the night of the live broadcast of the Rugby Union Test between Australia and England. Many Rugby followers are also interested in The Queen, and some would have chosen the immediacy of the match, hoping for a repeat or a DVD or video of the Royal programme. The Rugby live broadcast was watched by 1.037 million viewers and came second to the recorded programme on The Queen, which attracted 1.095 million viewers.
This was under the number who viewed the ABC’s transmission on 23 April 2006 about Rolf Harris and his painting of The Queen, which attracted an even higher nationwide TV audience of 1.28 million. This was the largest audience for this slot this year, and larger than any ABC audience for any programme in that week. But that programme was not broadcast as the same time as a major live football programme.
Last year, on 12 April 2005, we reported that, against the predictions of the commentariat and the attempts of the republicans to denigrate them, an enormous nationwide TV audience had watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla. This was early on Sunday morning when most Australians are usually in bed or they are not at home.
We said of the latest programme, that as it was about a Sovereign who has reigned for more than half the life of the nation, whom we never pay and who will never receive a golden handshake or generous superannuation, and who has always done her duty, is was sure to attract a very large audience.
Australians have spoken. They honour,love and respect their Queen.