Governor-General Sir John Kerr sacked the Labor PM on November 11, 1975, after a protracted fight to pass the budget between him and Malcolm Fraser. In the leadup to his decision, Sir John exchanged dozens of letters with Buckingham Palace advising Queen Elizabeth of his deliberations. Mr Whitlam had in October joked about potentially sacking Sir John, but the Governor-General is believed to have taken it as a serious threat. Whitlam refused to call yet another election and the two sides remained at an impasse before Governor-General John Kerr involved himself. Sir Martin in various letters praised Sir John's handling of the constitutional crisis, and gave him advice on how to proceed.

Source: Daily Mail July 14, 2020 00:58 UTC