King Charles III will not be greeted by a single state leader when he arrives in the Australian capital next week, angering the country’s monarchists.
The royal will touch down in Australia this week and head to Canberra next Monday for a reception to mark his first visit to Australia since taking the throne and the first by a British monarch since 2011.
But while the prime minister will be in attendance, the powerful leaders of all six states declined their invitations, citing “other commitments” ranging from election campaigns to cabinet meetings, according to Australian media.
The premier of Australia’s largest state of New South Wales said he would meet with Charles at another point during the royal trip.
Australian Monarchists League Spokesperson Bev McArthur called the brush-off a “slap in the face” to the king.
“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,” she told Australian media.
Australia, a former collection of British colonies, federated and became an independent nation in 1901 but remains a constitutional monarchy with the British monarch as its head of state — though in practice the sovereign’s position is purely symbolic, with no role in Australian day-to-day governance.
Support for an Australian republic is divided, according to polls. Buckingham Palace officials writing on behalf of Charles said last week that “whether Australia becomes a republic” is a “matter for the Australian public to decide.”
