In Australia one of the most difficult and demanding journeys for King Charles, not so much because of the distance. The sovereign of the United Kingdom is leaving for the other hemisphere on Friday and does not expect the same honors and welcome that were reserved for the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth in 1954, when it is estimated that three quarters of the Australian population at the time went to Sydney just to see it. Mass hospitality is a prerogative of the past, in a continent where republican demands are becoming more and more pressing and, consequently, the monarchy is now seen by most as a legacy of colonialism.
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The Australian Republic Movement (ARM) – recalls the British magazine Spectator – spoke of the visit as an opportunity to “rekindle the debate on the republic”. The pressure group even attracted the attention of the British media when it published Buckingham Palace’s response to its letter to the King, in which the Palace declared that becoming a republic was a matter solely for the Australian people. The Arm should be present at public events attended by the sovereign with the yellow signs of the republicans. However, the prime ministers of the eight Australian states will not be there, having already announced that they will not go to Canberra to listen to the king’s speech.
Charles must therefore prepare to receive a cold, but not icy, welcome: despite the controversy, in fact, the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House will be lit to welcome the king and queen to Australia. To make up for the defections of prime ministers – writes the Mirror – the world-famous monument will be illuminated on Friday evening – at a cost of around 60 thousand euros – with a four-minute loop montage of images of previous royal visits to Sydney. Which – the tabloid recalls – did not happen on the occasion of the king’s coronation, to “save costs”.
What begins on Friday will be the first trip to Australia by a reigning monarch since 2011, when Queen Elizabeth II visited Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth. King Charles visited Australia 16 times before taking the throne in 2022, following the death of his mother. The Australian Republic Movement defined the visit as the “Farewell Oz Tour” or the right opportunity to say goodbye to the kingdom. Australia held a referendum on becoming a republic in 1999, in which 55% of voters were against it. However, more recent polls show that Charles is actually more popular than ever.
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