So, King Charles III finally turned up for the Australian leg of his victory lap of the Commonwealth. History editor Dr Glenn Davies declares it's time an Australian head of state was one of us... and also a resident.
IT'S BEEN OVER two years since then-Prince Charles stepped into the top job.
A royal tour between 18 and 26 October 2024 marked the first time that Australians experienced a royal audience with their king. After over ten years, four governors-general and two monarchs, a sitting Australian Head of State finally appeared Down Under!
Our absentee King’s 17,000-kilometre journey from the other side of the world saw Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, grace us with the presence of a British Monarch on Australian soil for the first time as our Head of State (although the grace was presented only in Sydney and Canberra).
King Charles III was greeted in Canberra by the Prime Minister, but not a single state leader — all declined their invitations, citing “other commitments” ranging from election campaigns to cabinet meetings.
Queensland experienced its second King’s Birthday Public Holiday — even though KCIII’s actual birthday is 19 November. Queenslanders took the day off work; not in recognition of their hard work, but to recognise the British Monarch who will most likely be sleeping through our public holiday.
The King’s Birthday Public Holiday doesn’t remind us of anything good about our country. At worst, it tells us Australia’s head of state gets the job by inheritance.
Perhaps it would have been better if the British Monarch had turned up for "his" birthday weekend? I suppose, though, that would have been awkward: a public holiday in Queensland, only at this time of year (with WA a week before) and Queensland not even on the visiting schedule. Oops.
The lack of actual public activity around King’s Birthday Public Holiday shows just how much the concept of monarchy is out-of-step with contemporary Australia.
Since his birth as Prince Charles, KCIII has known he would one day take over the top job. One morning in 2022, Australians simply woke up to hear news from Britain that could affect our country for decades to come.
Australians did not choose King Charles III as our Head of State. It is a disgraceful fact that without Constitutional change, the citizens of Australia will never be consulted on our head of state.
It’s time for an Australian to be our head of state and do the job full-time rather than someone working from home at Windsor Castle — who can’t be bothered Zooming into an Australian office once a week.
We are a unique multicultural country and we need someone who understands how to embody us, to be the guardian of our Constitution — to be a unifying symbol at home and someone we are proud to see representing us abroad. Our head of state should be elected on merit, not gifted this position by birthright. They should have the skills and work experience to do the job.
It should be one of us. A person responsible and accountable to us and unwaveringly loyal to us — and only us.
We have our own identity as Australians. The Royals represent Britain and cannot represent us or really unite us as Australians. So many Australians believe in freedom and equal opportunity — not that some are born to rule over others.
We come from all walks of life, from all corners of the globe and this ancient land. Our shared commitment to our common future is what binds us together. Standing against this is the elevation of Charles III.
I’ve argued previously here that there is no place for princes and kings in modern Australia. The public repudiation of former PM Tony Abbott’s knights and dames decision showed that Australia has moved on from the old colonial way of thinking.
We can have respect and affection for Britain and its celebrity royals but still, question why we do not have our own head of state.
The royals are welcome to visit as representatives of Britain, but I look forward to when the British people and their royal family will welcome a visit by the first Australian head of state.
In the words of Australian comedian and radio presenter Sammy J:
"So to our King, we say g’day and we praise his DNA, his ever-loyal subjects across the sea. We might have golden soil and a bit of wealth for toil, but us Aussies are still girt by monarchy."
For us in Australia, royalty only ever visits us from somewhere else, from across the seas. It’s not something that lives with us. Royalty comes and royalty goes, but it is never a true part of us.
Thanks Charles, but we’ve got it from here.
Toodle pip.
You can follow history editor Dr Glenn Davies on Twitter/X @DrGlennDavies.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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