EXCLUSIVE: Moment cloth-capped ex-PM Paul Keating unleashes as he ducks for cover after being asked about his notorious 'Lizard of Oz' moment in the wake of the Queen's death
- Ex-PM Paul Keating became famous for slipping his arm around Queen in 1992
- He was dubbed the Lizard of Oz in outraged newspaper headlines over incident
- Mr Keating released statement about monarch's death on Friday ignoring row
- And he snapped at Daily Mail Australia reporter when quizzed about it at lunch
- The Queen's funeral: All the latest Royal Family news and coverage
Republican PM Paul Keating was once outrageously dubbed the 'Lizard of Oz' by the British press for putting his arm around Queen Elizabeth II as he introduced her to dignitaries during a visit to Australia.
And with the death of the Queen some 30 years later, the legendary Australian prime minister was in no mood to discuss the faux-outrage generated by the incident when he was approached for his memories on Friday in Sydney's Potts Point.
Mr Keating, 78, became a figure of notoriety in Britain during Her Majesty's visit to Australia in February 1992, when he not only made a republican speech in front of her, but for seemingly breaking Royal protocol by placing his arm around the monarch.
His actions earned him front-page treatment in British newspapers, with rabid headlines such as 'HANDS ORF!' and 'LIZARD OF OZ'.
But when he was quizzed about the incident Friday in Sydney, the quick-witted politician famous for his savage use of the English language appeared almost lost for words.
He ignored questions from Daily Mail Australia before snapping: 'I'd prefer you to disappear as quickly as you can...
'Public life means I have to deal with flogs like you, mate - that's the problem,' he added with a wry smile:
Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating snapped on Friday when he was grilled about the 'Lizard of Oz' incident with the Queen
Royal watchers were outraged when Keating put his hand on the Queen's back to steer the monarch through a crowd.
The disregard of Palace protocol - which prohibits that kind of intimate touching - was seen by some as a ploy by the staunch republican to diminish the Queen's standing and to further his anti-monarchist agenda in Australia.
His wife Annita added to the furore when she twice greeted the Queen without the customary curtsy during the Royal tour of Australia.
The Labor leader then doubled down on the diplomatic incident with a pro-republic style speech to Parliament, which was said to have left the Queen 'dismayed'.
Mr Keating paved the way for a referendum in November 1999 for Australia to become a republic which was soundly defeated after opposition from his successor John Howard.
Mr Keating sealed his place in Royal infamy when he put his hand on the Queen's back as he steered the monarch through a crowd
On Friday, just hours after the monarch's death at the age of 96, Mr Keating marked her passing with a lunch at the ritzy Macleay St Bistro in Sydney's Potts Point.
He released an official statement on the Queen's demise around 1.30pm before immediately leaving his nearby office with his daughter Caroline.
But in bizarre scenes as he walked the short distance to the restaurant, his daughter waved her arms wildly and the ex-PM tried to hide his face behind his hands.
He then disappeared inside the busy bistro where he and Caroline enjoyed a leisurely hour-long meal.
Paul Keating walked the short distance to a restaurant in Potts Points, with his daughter Caroline not happy to see Daily Mail Australia
As he left the restaurant to return to his office, he shrugged off questions about his feelings on the Queen's passing and his role in the 1992 row.
Mr Keating was Australia's prime minister between 1991 and 1996, before being defeated at the ballot box by Mr Howard.
He issued a lengthy statement which hinted at his belief that the Queen rejected the right-wing politics of the UK in the 1980s and 90s under then-PM Margaret Thatcher.
The former Labor firebrand said he was in favour of more socially-aware and supportive policies.
But on Friday he refused to expand on his comments about the Queen's political views.
'In the 20th century, the self became privatised, while the public realm, the realm of the public good, was broadly neglected,' he wrote on Friday in response to the Queen's death.
Former quick-witted politician Paul Keating once famous for his savage tongue was almost lost for words when quizzed about the 1992 incident
'Queen Elizabeth understood this and instinctively attached herself to the public good against what she recognised as a tidal wave of private interest and private reward. And she did this for a lifetime. Never deviating.
'She was an exemplar of public leadership, married for a lifetime to political restraint, remaining always, the constitutional monarch.'
He didn't mention the 'Lizard' incident with the monarch or the way the row had been portrayed in his statement.
But he paid tribute to her years of selfless service, and said she embodied all that was good about Britain.
'To the extent that an hereditary monarch can ever reflect the will or conscience of a people, in the case of Britain, Queen Elizabeth assimilated a national consciousness reflecting every good instinct and custom the British people possessed and held to their heart,' he added.
Paul Keating finally offered a classic slap down to questions about the Queen: 'I'd prefer you to disappear as quickly as you can'
'In a 70-year reign, she was required to meet literally hundreds of thousands of officials - presidents, prime ministers, ministers, premiers, mayors and municipal personalities.
'It was more than one person should ever have been asked to do.
'But Elizabeth II's stoicism and moralism welded her to the task and with it, the idea of monarchy.'
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