In a world first, a seal has broken on one of the pillars of public life. Denmark’s PostNord, the Danish equivalent of Australia Post, has ceased delivery of letters, handing over a 400-year tradition to a private company. I had a Kermit the Frog moment when I heard this, wanting to run around yelling “Ahhh!” with my skinny green arms waving erratically above my head.

What if I want to take up letter writing and have a pen pal in Denmark? Can a private letter delivery business be trusted with my handwritten pages as one would expect from a royal, imperial or government postal service? And what is it going to cost? Will I need to sell a kidney to post a letter to Denmark?

That’s so last monarch – a 4¢ stamp with Queen Elizabeth’s portrait in 1971. Today we pay $1.70 for a regular postage stamp. Credit:

This news broke at the same time people were lining up at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra, hoping to be the recipient of the first coin minted for 2026. I instantly drew a comparison, wondering how long before another institution,........

© The Sydney Morning Herald