Commonwealth Games: Charles and Camilla sneak into Australia

Our future monarch and his wife Camilla popped into Australia a few days early ahead of the Commonwealth Games and we barely noticed.

This is Prince Charles’ 16th visit to Australia. Picture: AP

Prince Charles and Camilla managed to sneak into Australia a few day early for a secret holiday in regional NSW while calls for Australia to become a republic dominated headlines.

Due to fly into Brisbane today for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, the heir apparent to the British throne and the Duchess of Cornwall have been with friends on a farm in Gundagai. It was previously believed they would land in Australia today.

“Their Royal Highnesses arrived in Australia earlier this week. They have been staying privately at a friend’s house in rural New South Wales,” a spokesman for Prince Charles said.

He added this was at no cost to the Australian taxpayer, a sensitive issue given that the government covers the costs of royal tours.

Prince Charles’ visit is being watched to assess his popularity as the future king of Australia as the Queen indicates she will wind down her overseas engagements.

Former Prime Minister Paul Keating linked the republican issue to Prince Charles’ visit on Monday by stating he believed the monarch supported Australia becoming a republic.

“I have no doubt he believes Australia should be free of the British monarchy and that it should make its own way in the world,” Mr Keating said. “Why would he or any one of his family want to visit Australia pretending to be, or representing its aspirations as, its head of state?”

Mr Keating believes Australia cannot claim to be a “great” nation while it is part of the British monarchy.

Staunch monarchist and former PM Tony Abbott responded by accusing Keating of “verballing” Prince Charles on Twitter. “Prince Charles would just want to do his duty and he shouldn’t be verballed by an ex-PM.” he said.

Royal watchers are eagerly awaiting the duo who will fly from Wagga Wagga to Brisbane. They will meet Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Governor-General Peter Cosgrove before appearing at Brisbane City Botanic Gardens at 1.15pm.

This is Prince Charles’ 16th visit to Australia and his seventh visit to Queensland. He and Camilla will visit parts of Queensland before travelling to the Northern Territory.

EXCLUSIVE: Charles and Camilla's secret stop before Games arrival. #9News https://t.co/E7GgPayOHu pic.twitter.com/L5G1sWjMsj

— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) April 4, 2018