Regal request that helped topple PM

Many would be happy to be a knight once over. Others would consider it honour enough to also be a Knight of the Thistle. Surely then being made Knight Grand Cross of both the Order of the British Empire and the Order of the Condor of the Andes would satisfy even the most gonghungry of public servants?

Not so the Duke of Edinburgh. An Australian journalist has claimed Prince Philip was recently given his Australian knighthood after a personal request from the Queen, who said that, compared with Prince Charles, the duke ‘‘had not been so richly rewarded by Australia’’.

The award by Tony Abbot in January, when he was prime minister, set off a wave of rebellion within the government. It was deeply resented by many Australians and became the catalyst for the first attempt by Abbott’s colleagues to unseat him. Yesterday, however, Greg Sheridan, the foreign editor of The Australian and a friend of Abbott’s since their university days, claimed that he had made the award only at the behest of the Queen.

Sheridan wrote that Abbott’s decision to honour the duke made the prime minister ‘‘look absurdly antique and out of touch, reinforcing every negative stereotype about him’’.

However, Sheridan said Abbott had acted in response to the Queen’s wish.

‘‘Abbott gave Philip a knighthood because he learnt the Queen wanted her husband to have one,’’ he wrote. ‘‘Not only did Abbott endure enormous personal damage because of his loyalty to the Queen, he never leaked the exculpatory explanation, which does not excuse his error in judgment but gives it context, humanises it and may have made it a less toxic political issue.’’

At the time, Abbott dismissed criticisms of the award to Prince Philip, saying much of it was unworthy of being taken seriously because it was on social media.

‘‘You wouldn’t report what’s sprayed up on the walls of buildings,’’ he told journalists.

However, the criticism intensified and two weeks after he announced the award to the duke Abbott faced the first move from within his governing Liberal party to remove him from office. Although Abbott survived, he was shaken by the rebellion, describing it as ‘‘a near-death experience’’.

The changes failed to ward off the second challenge to Abbott this week, which resulted in government removing Abbott and installing his long-term rival, Malcolm Turnbull, as the new prime minister.

Turnbull is a long-time republican.

Even so, he should be wary about revoking the knighthood: the duke is also a field marshal in the Australian army, a marshal in the air force and an admiral of the fleet.