MP Andrew Hastie also decided to hang a portrait of the Queen in his office
Nicholas Lord took advantage of the existing law in the country that every citizen can request free official symbols representing the sovereignty of the state. These include not only a portrait of the Queen, but also the national flag in different sizes and the national anthem recorded on a CD.
Nicholas Lord sent a corresponding request to his MP Andrew Hastie and after some time received not only the long-awaited portrait, but also the Australian national flag as a bonus. The story went viral on social media, and soon MPs were flooded with requests from citizens to immediately send them the due portrait of the Queen.
As one member of the Australian parliament, Tim Watts, said in an interview with Australian broadcaster ABC, demand for the royal portrait skyrocketed "because of brilliant trolling." "I can say that before this story was published, I received zero requests for a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth," Watts admitted. "And in the past 24 hours, I have received, off the top of my head, about forty requests. I would say that 99% of them are made as a joke."
Other MPs also began to note the same on social media. "In the last 12 hours we have received more than 25 requests for a portrait of the Queen," wrote MP Rebecca Sharkey on Twitter.
The portrait sent to Australians has a local focus: it shows Queen Elizabeth II wearing a heraldic brooch with the Australian coat of arms pinned to the left side of her dress, and on the right, a brooch in the shape of a sprig of Australian wattle, which was presented to her in 1954 during her first royal visit to Australia by then Prime Minister Robert Menzies. She also wears a sapphire parure, a gift from her father, King George VI, for her wedding.
According to the law on state symbols for personal use, Australians can also request a portrait of the Queen's consort, Prince Philip, but so far no such requests have been made.
Portraits of other members of the royal family – Princes William and Harry, for example, and their spouses – are not included in the set of state symbols to which every Australian is entitled.
This law is unique to Australia, since citizens of Canada can only download a portrait of the reigning monarch to their computer, while in the UK, Her Majesty's subjects have the full right to buy her official portrait for £92.40 (about $118), not including the cost of the frame.
As BBC reminds, Australia is part of the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Queen is the head of state. In the Australian capital Canberra, she is represented by the Governor-General. In 1999, Australians voted in a referendum against turning Australia into a republic, but in recent years there has been debate in society about the need to reconsider these results.