King Charles is back in action with a new tour to Australia, his most extended one since his cancer diagnosis and his first tour to that continent as King.
King Charles and Queen Camilla last visited the country in 2018 when they opened the Commonwealth Games on the Queensland Gold Coast when King Charles was still a Prince.
The tour is not without controversy, and some say the ailing monarch will be snubbed over the reception plans when he arrives.
Australia is one of over a dozen countries, including New Zealand and Canada, recognizing King Charles as their head of state, but not all are happy with that arrangement.
This Royal tour of Australia and Samoa will last from October 18-26, and some are calling out the state leaders who will not welcome King Charles when he lands in their country.
Australia has a big divide between the Monarchists, who welcome British rule, and groups like the Australian Republican Movement, which wants it to end. It seems that some of the latter are going to snub King Charles.
Australian state leaders will snub King Charles, according to reports
Politico reports that while the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, will be on hand to greet King Charles when he lands at the Australian capital, not one of the six state leaders will be on hand to welcome their King.
Each state leader swore allegiance to the monarchy, and decorum dictated they be on hand to welcome King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Australian Monarchists League Spokesperson Bev McArthur noted that the state leaders move was a “slap in the face” to King Charles.
“All premiers and ministers have sworn allegiance to our monarch, Charles III, and it is a monumental insult that they now spit in his hand extended in friendship,” Bev McArthur continued.
The BBC reported that King Charles thinks that it is up to the Australian people to decide the matter once and for all, saying, “His Majesty, as a constitutional monarch, acts on the advice of his Ministers, and whether Australia becomes a republic is therefore a matter for the Australian public to decide.”
The anti-monarchy movement is selling merch for King Charles’ ‘farewell tour’
The Australian Republican Movement is one of the groups lobbying to end British rule in Australia.
They have put out an advert saying that this trip is King Charles’ Farewell Oz Tour and are selling merchandise to promote the concept.
The BBC reports that the Australian Republican Movement’s motives are to spark a debate over the issue, but this still offends the Monarchists.
It could be seen in poor taste to promote King Charles having a farewell tour because he is still undergoing chemotherapy treatments to treat his cancer.