‘Farewell to monarchy’: Why King Charles’ tour to Australia could be his last as head of state

Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla are visiting Australia this week. The royal couple will kickstart the six-day tour on Friday (October 18). This is Charles’ first trip to the country since ascending to the throne.

The visit is also significant as this is the first time a British king will arrive in Australia. However, this could also be one of his last trips as Australia’s head of state.

We will explain why.

King Charles’ Australia visit

The British monarch and his wife will be in Australia from Friday evening to Wednesday (October 23).

The royal tour will entail events in Sydney and Canberra. The visit will focus on apparently “non-political" issues such as environmental sustainability, cancer research and domestic violence, as per The Conversation.

Charles will meet with Indigenous representatives to learn about the culture and community of Australia’s First Nations.

He will also attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in the Samoan capital Apia between October 21 and 26.

The trip would not be quite busy due to the king’s ongoing cancer treatment.

Charles has visited Australia 16 times. In 1966, he completed two terms as an exchange student at Geelong Grammar School in Victoria. He described it as “by far the best” experience of his education, as per BBC.

He returned to Down Under 15 more times for official tours, including with Princess Diana in 1983. His last trip was in 2018 when he opened the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.

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Is this King Charles’ last royal visit to Australia?

Australia is a constitutional monarchy, with Britain’s monarch as its head of state. King Charles does not participate in the country’s day-to-day functioning as the role is mostly ceremonial. Instead, he is represented by the Governor-General, appointed by him on the advice of the Australian Prime Minister.

Recently, debates have gained traction in Australia about it potentially becoming a republic.

In 1999, Australia had carried out a referendum on becoming a republic, which was defeated. While 55 per cent of Australians voted against the referendum, 45 per cent were in favour.

But now the sentiment to ditch the monarchy seems to have reignited again, with calls for another ballot rising.

A YouGov Australia poll published last September to mark King Charles’ first anniversary of taking the throne gauged Australians’ mood on the monarchy.

About 32 per cent said they want to become a republic “as soon as possible”, while 35 per cent favoured remaining a constitutional monarchy. Around 12 per cent preferred to become a republic after the king’s death. The rest of those surveyed said they were unsure.

The poll noted that more Australians want the country to become a republic since Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September 2022.

A survey by NewsCorp’s Pulse of Australia platform this week found that 33 per cent of 1,049 Australian respondents want the country to become a republic. About 45 per cent preferred Australia to remain a monarchy, while 22 per cent said they were not sure.

Polls have often revealed a generational gap in the republican sentiment, with older Australians having a more favoured view of the monarchy.

A student told BBC, “I feel older generations, like my parents and my grandparents, would have much more of a stronger connection to the monarchy.”

The Australian Republic Movement (ARM) is trying to take advantage of the increasing indifference to the monarchy. It recently launched a campaign depicting King Charles, Queen Camilla and William, the Prince of Wales, as ageing rock stars on their final show.

Nathan Hansford, co-chair of ARM, told Reuters, “So we’re calling it a ‘farewell to monarchy’ tour. It’s a bit like a rock and roll farewell tour. We’re absolutely welcoming Charles and Camilla here this time around. We’d love to wave goodbye to royal reign. Next time they come, we’d love to welcome those visitors, absolutely welcomed by an Australian head of state.”

Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has previously been a vocal supporter of the country becoming a republic, saying: “Australia should have an Australian as our head of state.”

When he came to power in 2022, Albanese appointed an assistant minister for the republic. However, the portfolio was abolished in July this year.

Matt Thistlethwaite, who was the assistant minister, had suggested at the time that the “twilight of [Queen Elizabeth’s] reign” presented “a good opportunity for a serious discussion about what comes next for Australia”.

Anti-monarchists are hoping that King Charles’ visit will rekindle a discussion about a referendum.

“We’ve been independent for a long time now but that last little step of independence for us is splitting away from the monarchy,” Hansford was quoted as saying by BBC. “Regardless of whatever connotations you want to put towards the British royal family in the past, it’s really a story about us moving forward as a nation.”

But not all agree.

Alexander Voltz from the Australian Monarchist League wants things to remain as they are.

“I’m simply waiting for the republicans to produce an idea that really is something more than vague platitudes and appeals to emotional arguments and something that could actually be better than what we already have,” he told Reuters.

What does Charles say?

Charles’ response to a letter by ARM was publicised this week. Britain’s king has hinted he would not stand in the way if Australians decided to get rid of the monarchy.

The letter was sent by Nathan Ross, assistant private secretary to the king, in March thanking ARM for its “thoughtfulness in writing as you did”.

“The King appreciated that you took the time to write and asked me to reply on his behalf,” Ross wrote in the letter, as per The Guardian.

“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.”

The ARM had shot off a letter to King Charles last year requesting a meeting during the forthcoming Australia tour. It had asked the monarch to “consider publicly supporting the will of the Australian people and their desires to move to a republic”.

According to The Daily Mail, Buckingham Palace has “politely declined” the meeting request.

Esther Anatolitis, ARM’s chairman, said the king’s response indicated he was a “progressive, contemporary kind of leader”.

“It just doesn’t make sense for the role of head of state to be something that’s inherited by birthright,” she was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

With inputs from agencies