King Charles’ plan to visit Down Under is thwarted in the wait for official invite
Britain’s King Charles III has been left “disquieted” by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a republican. See why.
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Anthony Albanese has been accused of falling foul of royal protocol by not proposing a date for King Charles III to visit Australia.
The prime minister, a republican, offered the King an open invitation at the time of the Queen’s funeral saying, “as the Australian head of state he is always a welcome visitor and he always has been to Australia”.
But royal biographer to the King, Robert Jobson, said such an invitation did not constitute an official invitation.
“This is not how to deal with the King. You need to invite his majesty to visit Australia, one of the senior Commonwealth realms, so the palace can then plan the trip,” Jobson said.
“It is customary the year after a monarch is crowned for them to visit Australia.”
The sovereign is understood to have been left “disquieted” by the delay, as it thwarts his mission to bolster relations with the Commonwealth realm.
“They’ve had conversations and Charles is keen to connect with the people he is serving in Australia as king once again, but the Australian prime minister is in no rush to send a formal invite,” a source, who has a good working relationship with the King, said.
“There is disquiet about it. The King is an old monarch and wants to get on with it.
“As is protocol, he cannot act upon anything until he receives an official invite.”
Buckingham Palace would not discuss details of talks between the King and Mr Albanese for a state visit.
The King’s aides shelved negotiations when the Queen died for a visit Down Under to mark 200 years of the first parliament to coincide with a stop in Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), as part of palace plans to cement bilateral relations, but arrangements have been left hanging.
Her death also reignited a campaign for Australian constitutional independence with republicans calling for a presidential system free of a British head of state.
Mr Albanese has committed to a referendum for a constitutionally enshrined indigenous ‘Voice to parliament’, after which the Labor government has said it will hold a vote to test Australians’ appetite for a republic if it is elected for a second term.
A spokeswoman for Mr Albanese’s office would not be drawn on details of an invitation except to say, “the Prime Minister has personally and publicly invited the king to visit. He personally invited the King in an official capacity last year”.
“It‘s not official, otherwise the government would have made a public announcement,” said Philip Benwell, national chairman of the Australian Monarchist League in Australia.
“Labor is doing everything to establish a republic – the Australian central bank announced King Charles will not feature on the new $5 note and the coronation will be the first time in a major event in the life of a monarch of Australia that there will be no celebrations organised by the government for the people to enjoy.”
The Australian Republican Movement (ARM) denounced a royal trip to Australia “a waste” of taxpayers‘ money, arguing the country no longer identifies with the British Monarchy.
Mr Albanese will travel to London for His Majesty‘s coronation next week.
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