Republicans tip Charles’ visit as his last for Royals – but we’ve heard it all before
As King Charles and Queen Camilla visit Australia, much has been made of the Australian Republic Movement’s declaration it’s their Farewell Tour – but we’ve heard it all before, writes Kerry Parnell.
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Farewell tour? I wouldn’t be so sure; we’ve heard it all before.
As King Charles and Queen Camilla visit Australia this weekend, much has been made of the Australian Republic Movement’s declaration it’s their Farewell Tour, complete with merch to celebrate, with the slogan, “Let’s wave goodbye to royal reign!”
“It’s time for Australia to say, ‘Thanks, but we’ve got it from here’,” co-chair Esther Anatolitis said in a statement.
King Charles is only the second-reigning monarch to visit Australia – the late Queen’s seismic first visit in 1954 was the first – but the question is, will it really be the last? I’m not so certain. If I was a betting woman, I’d put money on making it a hat trick, when Prince William becomes King.
Certainly, this tour is a marked change to the Queen’s first visit, 70 years ago this year, when an incredible one million Sydneysiders took to the streets to watch the new monarch’s arrival, half of whom had slept on the street the night before to make sure they got their spot. Can you imagine? Plus, the population of the city was only 1.9 million.
It was the biggest event ever planned in Australia’s history up until then, and it’s thought 75 per cent of Australia’s population saw the Queen as she travelled the nation on her two-month-long trip.
However, the rapture waned quite quickly and the Queen experienced plenty of protests throughout her reign as times, society and Australia inevitably changed. By the time it came to her Silver Jubilee tour of Australia in 1977, she faced anti-royalist demonstrations when she arrived in Sydney.
There were “boos and anti-royalist banners” among the crowds, according to a news story in The Canberra Times. When she and Prince Philip were driven around Sydney Cricket Ground in an open-top Land Rover, protesters in the stands unrolled a large banner saying, ‘Republic for Australia”.
“The Queen and Prince Philip seemed unperturbed by the incident and continued waving and smiling to the crowd of about 20,000,” the report stated.
Two decades after that, Australia famously voted in a referendum and the Queen stayed away until afterwards, not returning until 2000. That visit was also expected to be a Farewell Tour.
However, in November 1999, Australia voted 54.87 per cent, No, to 45.13 per cent, Yes. When the Queen did come back, she addressed it in a speech at Sydney Opera House.
“I have always made it clear that the future of the monarchy in Australia is an issue for you, the Australian people, and you alone to decide by democratic and constitutional means. It should not be otherwise,” she said. “Whatever the future may bring, my lasting respect and deep affection for Australia and Australians everywhere will remain as strong as ever.”
A quarter of a century later, again, we find ourselves discussing the same question. Has Australia’s – and the UK’s for that matter – relationship with the monarchy shifted, once more? Yes. Will Australia become a republic? Undoubtedly.
But will this really be a Farewell Tour? No. Not yet.
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