Senior attorneys who had been appointed Queen’s Counsel now automatically become King’s Counsel, causing the legal profession in Australia to lament the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
On Friday, the clerk in a drug importation case in Victoria’s Court of Appeal dubbed “Saverio Zirilli vs The King for judgment” and court president Justice Karin Emerton mourned the demise of the Queen.
Judge Robert Sutherland said when the fraud trial for Helen Rosamond recommenced in the NSW District Court: “Her Majesty may have died away but the Crown continues.”
A minute of silence was observed in memory of the late king before Joseph Winters was given a sentence in the District Court at Parramatta for causing a deadly accident.
Australia’s legal community is mourning Queen Elizabeth II (pictured in 2021) as senior barristers previously appointed Queen’s Counsel automatically become King’s Counsel
In Victoria’s Court of Appeal on Friday, the clerk called ‘Saverio Zirilli against The King for judgment’ in a drug importation case (pictured, Victoria’s Supreme Court)
Australian Bar Association president Matt Collins KC said the Queen had served the people of Australia, the United Kingdom and Commonwealth with unfailing dignity, compassion, intelligence and grace over seven remarkable decades.
‘Throughout that period, Australia has been very well served by, and owes much of its stability and prosperity to, the institutions and Westminster traditions of which Her Majesty has been a vital and wise custodian,’ he said in a statement.
Since 1993 senior barristers in NSW have been appointed to the Senior Counsel title. But some states and territories have retained or restored the QC title and those barristers have instead become KCs.
Law Institute of Victoria president Tania Wolff paid tribute on behalf of the state’s solicitors.
‘Through her 70-year reign, the Queen has been a constant figure in our lives. Her life’s work exemplifies the qualities of dedication, commitment, compassion, dignity and an extraordinary work ethic,’ she said.
The news of the much-loved monarch’s passing has shocked millions across Australia despite reports the Queen’s health had been deteriorating (pictured, the Queen in Edmonton in 2005)
The news of the much-loved monarch’s passing has saddened millions across Australia despite earlier reports the Queen’s health was deteriorating.
After a remarkable 70 years on the throne, the country’s longest-reigning royal yesterday died ‘peacefully’, aged 96, at her castle in Balmoral in Scotland.
Australia’s leaders, including former Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his successor Anthony Albanese have led the stream of tributes for Her Majesty on Friday.
Mr Morrison said the Queen had praised the ‘resilience’ of the Australian people during their last conversation at Windsor Castle in June of last year.
After 70 years on the throne, the country’s longest-reigning royal yesterday died ‘peacefully’, aged 96, at her castle in Balmoral in Scotland (pictured, the Queen in Perth in 2011)
‘In our last conversation at Windsor Castle last year, Her Majesty spoke of her great admiration for the strength and resilience of Australians in the face of the many challenges we had faced,’ he said.
‘And she had a special place in her heart for our rural and regional communities, knowing the many hardships they had faced, not just recently, but over the many decades of her reign.
‘For generations, we have proclaimed God Save the Queen, and now she had entered her eternal rest with Him and joined again with her beloved Phillip.’
Mr Morrison said one of the enduring images he remembered of the Queen was her sitting alone at Prince Phillip’s funeral last April, adding meeting with her at Windsor and Buckingham Palace had been his ‘greatest honour’.
It came several hours after Mr Albanese paid tribute to the Queen’s dedication to duty and service, and comfort to Australia in times of crisis.
Mr Morrison said the Queen had praised the ‘resilience’ of the Australian people during their last conversation at Windsor Castle in June of last year (pictured)
The Australian leader, who has donned a black tie since hearing the news, was told an hour before the rest of the world was informed via an official announcement.
Mr Albanese leader offered his condolences to the Royal Family, the British people, and his own country, which held Her Majesty in the highest regard.
His lengthy statement, issued in the early hours of Friday morning, paid tribute to her many achievements and incredible strength of character over 214 day reign.
In London, the Queen’s death has sparked an immediate and huge outpouring of emotion, with thousands of heartbroken mourners gathering outside the gates of Bucking Palace and other royal buildings.
The Queen’s son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, is now King Charles III, while Prince William has inherited his father’s title and is now, along with his wife, styled The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.
William is also now the ‘heir apparent’ to the British throne.