King Charles Believes Australia Keeping Him Head of State Is ‘A Matter for the Australian Public to Decide’
“The visit will also be a key test of the King’s popularity as monarch,” according to the Telegraph, which added that the September 2022 death of Queen Elizabeth “was widely believed to have increased Australians’ mood for constitutional change to a republic.”
The Daily Mail reported that ARM had written to Buckingham Palace requesting a meeting with King Charles when he arrives in Australia. The group added that support to leave the Crown behind to become a republic was growing amongst Australians, and added in the correspondence that it was time for the country to stand “on equal footing with other nations.”
Australia remains one of the 14 countries globally to retain the British monarch as its head of state. In 2021, Barbados became the most recent country to become a republic, but it remains a key Commonwealth ally and enjoys a warm relationship with the U.K., according to the Daily Mail.
In response, Dr. Nathan Ross, an aide to the King, emphasized Charles’ “deep love and affection” for Australia, adding, “Please be assured that your views on this matter have been noted very carefully.”
“His Majesty, as a constitutional monarch, acts on the advice of his ministers and whether Australia becomes a republic is, therefore, a matter for the Australian public to decide,” he wrote.
Nathan Hansford, co-chairman of ARM, said the group’s invitation for the King to meet with them was “politely declined.”
After announcing the King and Queen’s royal visit earlier this year, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was forced to shelve plans for a referendum on replacing the King as head of state. To pass a referendum in Australia, more than 50% of Australians must vote yes, and the vote must win support in a majority of states, the Telegraph reported.
A referendum on the issue was held in Australia in 1999, and the public voted to remain a constitutional monarchy, the BBC reported. Earlier this year, Australia’s government said plans for another referendum were “not a priority,” but, according to the outlet, “campaigners for a republic argue that Australia’s head of state shouldn’t be the monarch, but someone chosen by Australians.”
While Down Under, Charles and Camilla will visit both Sydney and Canberra before heading to Samoa and the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) there. This tour marks Charles’ first visit to a Commonwealth realm since his reign began in September 2022, and also the first tour of this scale and scope since he announced earlier this year he had been diagnosed with cancer. Last week, news emerged that the King will “pause” cancer treatments while abroad and will resume them when back in the U.K.; he will also travel with two doctors on the trip.
Though the tour already includes a stop in two countries, a third stop to New Zealand was planned but then cut in light of the King’s health. Speaking to the New Zealand women’s rugby team during a reception at Buckingham Palace, Charles said, “I’m extremely sorry I can’t come to New Zealand in later October — it’s on doctors’ orders. But I hope there will be another excuse [to visit] before too long. In the meantime, give my love to New Zealand.”
While in Australia, “the itinerary has been designed with the King’s health in mind,” the Times reported. “The King and Queen will have a rest day, and there will be no evening engagements.”
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In Samoa, Charles will participate in CHOGHM, as he is the head of the Commonwealth association of 56 nations. The summit is held every two years, and while in Samoa the King and Queen will arrive in the evening and attend a state dinner. The palace said that the couple’s engagements in both nations “will focus on themes designed to celebrate the best of Australia and Samoa, as well as reflecting aspects of the King and Queen’s work.”
