London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – King Charles has declared he will not stand in the path if Australia desires to replace him as the country’s head of state, it has been said.
Ahead of his stay later this month, the king is expressed to be assuming an “anti-confrontational approach” to Australian republican campaigners, the Daily Mail said. In reply to the Australian Republican Movement’s (ARM) request for a discussion with the monarch, the king’s assistant private secretary is understood to have stressed his “deep love and affection” for Australia.
Nathan Ross reportedly described to the anti-monarchists: “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.”
How did the Australian republican movement respond?
The ARM states it is “the peak body advocating on behalf of the Australian people for an Australian republic with an Australian as our head of state”. Australia carried out a referendum in 1999 on the issue of evolving into a republic, in which 54.9% objected it.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has previously stated“Australia should have an Australian as our head of state”, but recently revealed that a second referendum was not a priority.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson stated: “Like his mother before him, it has always been the case that his majesty the King feels that it is a matter for the Australian people.”
Graham Smith, the chair of the British campaign group Republic who is in Australia to demonstrate against the monarchy during the king’s visit, stated the primary reaction to the trip had been one of “indifference and disinterest”.
“I’ve been in Australia talking to friends, campaigners and others for the past two weeks. Most people are barely aware of the visit and couldn’t care less. I’m here to promote the UK campaign, to question how Charles can represent us and why he is making this very brief visit at great expense to Australian and British taxpayers. I’m also here to say to Australians this isn’t an institution that deserves respect or deference, and that they shouldn’t believe for a moment that the UK is a nation of royalists. I’m hoping the visit will help influence the debate in both countries and highlight the irrelevance of the monarchy.”