The Palace Letters: Secrets behind Gough Whitlam dismissal revealed

Former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam holds up the original copy of his dismissal letter from then Governor-General Sir John Kerr on November 11, 1975, at an event in 2005. Photo / AP

Queen Elizabeth II was not told in advance that former Australian governor-general Sir John Kerr would dismiss the Whitlam government, new letters reveal.

In the anticipated Palace Letters released today by the National Archives, Sir John wrote he did not give the monarch notice because "it was better for Her Majesty not to know".

"I should say I decided to take the step I took without informing the Palace in advance because, under the Constitution, the responsibility is mine, and I was of the opinion it was better for Her Majesty not to know in advance, though it is of course my duty to tell her immediately," Sir John wrote to the Palace.

A return letter from the Queen's private secretary, Sir Martin Charteris, received on November 17, 1975 states: "Thank you very much for your letter of the 11th of November, which I of course showed to the Queen as soon as possible after it arrived."

"If I may say so with the greatest respect, I believe in not informing the Queen of what you intended to do before doing it, you acted not only with constitutional propriety, but also with admirable consideration for Her Majesty's position."

In a letter dated November 20, he gave a full recount of everything that went into his decision to sack Gough Whitlam.

Sir John then wrote a much fuller recount of everything that went into his decision.

"History will doubtless provide an answer to this question, but I was in a position where, in my opinion, I simply could not risk the outcome for the sake of the monarchy," he said.

"If, in the period of 24 hours in which he (Whitlam) was considering his position he advised the Queen that I should be immediately dismissed, the position would then have been that either I would be, in fact, trying to dismiss him while he was trying to dismiss me - an impossible position for the Queen."

More than 200 secret letters between the Queen and Sir John were released on Tuesday morning, shedding light on what really happened during the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

Whitlam was dismissed without warning on November 11, 1975, about a month after the Senate refused to pass the Government's budget bills.

Malcolm Fraser, then opposition leader, was appointed caretaker prime minister, and a double-dissolution election was held on December 13, where the Whitlam Government was defeated.

Gough Whitlam gives an impromptu press conference at his home at Cabramatta on October 26, 1969. Photo / Getty Images

Letters between Kerr and the Queen date from 1974 to 1977, made up of more than 1200 pages. The Governor-General had at times written to Buckingham Palace more than once a day, with his correspondence reportedly becoming more feverish in the lead-up to the dismissal.

The "Palace Letters" have been held as personal records at the National Archives and were not set for public release until 2027 – and only then with the permission of the Queen, The Conversation reported.

But a lengthy court battle led by Professor Jenny Hocking reclassified the documents as Commonwealth property in June despite a fight from the Palace to keep them a secret.

National Archives director-general David Fricker said the release of the documents was a special event.

From the time that they were deposited with the Archives back in 1978, right up until the decision of the High Court on May 29, these records have been held in a special category under the law, Fricker said.

However, it was Sir John's wish that the Palace "had the final word".

Fricker described the former governor-general as a "very chatty" correspondent.

"He does detail state visits. He goes into some Commonwealth-state relations issues, which you won't be surprised we still face today," Fricker said.

"And, of course, the dismissal. What's in there? Typically, letters – several pages long – from Sir John, who is just giving a roundup of what's going on in Australia at the time.

"In almost every case, he's attached newspaper clippings from the day, which provide that additional analysis for the information of the Palace to explore the background to the various achievements."

Fricker also acknowledged the "perseverance and dedication" of Professor Jenny Hocking.

Former Australian PM Gough Whitlam holds up the original copy of his dismissal letter from then Governor-General Sir John Kerr on November 11, 1975. Photo / AP

After the dismissal, Speaker Gordon Scholes wrote to the Queen, asking her to reinstate Whitlam as prime minister.

Her private secretary Martin Charteris, whose correspondence is understood to be on behalf of the Queen, wrote back claiming she did not involve herself in Australian politics.

"The only person competent to commission an Australian Prime Minister is the Governor-General, and The Queen has no part in the decisions which the Governor-General must take in accordance with the Constitution," the letter read.

The letters reveal how much the Queen knew about, and the extent of her involvement in, the dismissal of Whitlam, shedding further light on what has always been a murky part of Australian history.

"It has been a distorted history, one for which the true details have emerged crablike over decades after strong research work to unravel what really happened," Prof Hocking told The Age.

"The release of these letters is in itself momentous but also typical of the way the history of the dismissal has come to light – gradually, after great effort, and with quite volcanic repercussions."