King Charles suffered another big setback ahead of his historic tour to Australia.
For the unversed, the monarch was urged by the leaders of the Australian Republic Movement (ARM) to step down as head of state as they wanted their country to become a republic state.
In response, the King said he would not interfere if the Australian public chose to replace him as head of state as he has “deep love and affection” for the country.
Now, The Mirror reported that the co-chairwoman of the ARM, Esther Anatolitis, shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, stating that the monarch’s much-awaited tour to Australia will be his last tour.
She said, “Welcome to Monarchy The Farewell Oz Tour. It’s time to wave goodbye to royal reign. This week’s visit is a valuable opportunity for us to ask that question we’ve been asking for many years, why does Australia still have a King?”
“Does it make sense that our head of state inherits the role by birthright and isn’t here for Australians full time? By all means, let’s welcome Charles and Camilla to Australia, but let’s see this as the last visit of a sitting monarch. Makes a lot of sense.”
However, Philip Benwell, the chairman of the pro-royal Australian Monarchist League, defended King Charles and criticized the “disrespectful” demands of the ARM members.
He said, “Using words like ‘the last tour of a king and queen of Australia’ is not only wrong, it is terribly disrespectful to Charles, particularly given his ongoing cancer battle.”
It is pertinent to note that King Charles and Queen Camilla will begin their royal tour to Australia and Samoa on October 18, 2024.
