King Charles III and Queen Camilla began their tour of Australia and Samoa on the 18th of September, making him the second reigning monarch to visit the nations.
The tour exposed divisions in Australian attitudes towards the royal family.
The debate about whether Australia should remain a part of the monarchy or become an independent republic is ongoing. A recent YouGov poll shows that 35 per cent of Australians want to remain a constitutional monarchy while 32 per cent wish to become a republic.
Drama entered the scene of the royal tour when the independent Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe spoke out against the King after his speech to the Australian Parliament.
“This is not your country,” and “You committed genocide against our people,” were yelled by Thorpe at the King shortly before she was escorted out of the chamber.
Her interruption was followed by Indigenous rights protests against the King’s visit for a formal treaty with Australia’s Indigenous peoples.
“This is not your country”
Many Monarchists celebrated the King’s visit, noting the crowds that gathered to see Charles.
Juliet Rieden, a royal correspondent, called the trip a success, saying that it “ was able to offer a sense of Charles’s stamp on the monarchy“.
When asked about the King’s visit, second-year Edinburgh University student Mark said, “The monarchy was doomed in Australia”.
“As the country becomes more diverse [and the] younger generations generally do not have feelings, there will be that disconnection,” Mark said.
“A breath of fresh air”
Another student, Kyle, thinks the King is taking the right approach, saying “Charles has a more personable persona in media”.
He “shows a willingness to have an open discussion regarding how to create a shift in the monarchies’ approach”.
Kyle said Charles’s approach to being a monarch is a “breath of fresh air” and “the correct path for the monarchy to go down, especially with the sensitive topic of Indigenous rights”.
Australian state premiers did not attend the King’s visit, citing other obligations.
King Charles III in Cardiff via Wikimedia Commons
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