King Charles III Heads To Australia, Commonwealth Meeting
King Charles III this week begins his first tour of Australia as monarch, reigniting debate about whether the country should sever ties with the British monarchy and become a republic.
Charles, who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, is pausing his treatment for the nine-day tour, which also takes in a Commonwealth summit in the Pacific island nation of Samoa.
The two-nation visit comes with growing calls for reparations for slavery from Caribbean leaders whose countries are members of the 56-nation club of mostly former British colonies.
In Australia, where Charles is also head of state, anti-monarchist groups have been selling “farewell tour” merchandise to supporters.
The head of Britain’s Republic campaign, which wants an elected head of state and has been behind high-profile protests in the UK, including at Charles’s coronation, has also made the trip to plan events and demonstrations.
Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper, meanwhile, reported that all of Australia’s state premiers have turned down invitations to meet the king at a reception in the capital, Canberra.
There was no immediate confirmation.
But a YouGov poll last year suggested that one in three Australians supported becoming a republic as soon as possible while a similar number want to remain a constitutional monarchy.
Australian Republic Movement deputy chair Adam Spencer insists that support for the monarchy is wavering and that Charles should “not be king of Australian subjects”.
