The Australian Women's Weekly November 2022

It has been an extraordinary two weeks watching the world honour the life and reign of a remarkable Queen. While much has been made of her achievements on the global stage, it is accounts of the personal impact she had on people that have touched me most deeply. And as The Weekly reader Stephanie Summers pointed out in a letter to the magazine this week, everyone has a “Queen story”. For Stephanie it was that day in 1954 when the Queen and her “Adonis” husband, Prince Philip, arrived in Sydney. As a Girl Guide, Stephanie, with two girls with special needs in her care, secured a coveted spot on the fence line at Centennial Park. After a long wait, and just as the entourage was due to drive by, one…

When the day came no one was ready. Her eldest son talked of “a sense of loss beyond measure” in his first address as the new King Charles III. His words, and those of his sons which came later, drew the people right into the heart of this close-knit family. Together we mourned as the House of Windsor shared its sorrow, and took comfort in the deep affection of a grateful nation and Commonwealth honouring a sovereign beyond compare. “I knew this day would come, but it will be some time before the reality of life without Grannie will truly feel real,” said William, her grandson, now Prince of Wales. “She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of…

Farewell to Her Majesty In a speech on her last visit to Australia in 2011, the Queen quoted an Aboriginal proverb. “We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love ... and then we return home.” Elizabeth’s faith was profound, guiding her through every twist and turn of her 96 years on this earth and since her passing, clerics who knew Her Majesty have affirmed that, like her late husband, she believed wholeheartedly in resurrection. In death the Queen knew she was going home, and that comforting, joyous idea was everywhere in the funeral she planned. In the 10 days leading up to her funeral Queen Elizabeth II was never alone on that…

“I rush my precious airmail edition of The Australian Women’s Weekly to Her Majesty the moment I have read it.”– Royal correspondent Anne Matheson in 1954 “She has a naturalness which is not over-friendly, yet she remains at all times poised and regal.”– Anne Matheson reflected in 1982 “The Queen and Prince Philip’s happy marriage revolves around a simple formula: they are still in love.”– Anne Matheson’s 1977 report (at right)…

Crown Prince Frederik read a heartfelt tribute to his mother, Queen Margrethe, to mark her Golden Jubilee, saying, “I follow you as you followed your father and as Christian will follow me. In this way, our lives overlap – fortunately – but you alone have the helm. The command has only one owner on the bridge between generations with the same mission.”…

Surfing into history Stephanie Gilmore was in tears when she clinched her eighth world title win to become the most successful women’s surfer. “This was the best win I’ve had,” she said. Jess Mauboy says no Jess joined stars, including Celine Dion, for L’Oréal’s Stand Up To Street Harassment campaign. “Street harassment is a form of violence and no aggression should be treated lightly,” she said. Dai flags her values For her first speech to parliament, MP Dai Le wore a Vietnamese dress made out of an Australian flag, saying it represented “hope, freedom and endless possibilities”.…