King Charles won’t stand in the way if ‘Australia wants to become a republic’

King Charles has said he will not stand in the way if Australia wishes to replace him as the country’s head of state, it has been reported.

Ahead of his visit later this month, the king is said to be adopting an “anti-confrontational approach” to Australian republican campaigners, the Daily Mail reported.

In response to the Australian Republican Movement’s (ARM) request for a meeting with the monarch, the king’s assistant private secretary is understood to have emphasised his “deep love and affection” for Australia.

Nathan Ross reportedly told the anti-monarchists: “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 ARM says it is “the peak body advocating on behalf of the Australian people for an Australian republic with an Australian as our head of state”. Australia held a referendum in 1999 on the issue of becoming a republic, in which 54.9% voted against.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has previously said “Australia should have an Australian as our head of state”, but recently indicated that a second referendum was not a priority.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “Like his mother before him, it has always been the case that his majesty the king feels that it is a matter for the Australian people.”

Graham Smith, the head of the British campaign group Republic who is in Australia to protest against the monarchy during the king’s visit, said the main reaction to the trip had been one of “indifference and disinterest”.

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“I’ve been in Australia talking to friends, campaigners and others for the past two weeks. Most people are barely aware of the visit and couldn’t care less.

“I’m here to promote the UK campaign, to question how Charles can represent us and why he is making this very brief visit at great expense to Australian and British taxpayers.

“I’m also here to say to Australians this isn’t an institution that deserves respect or deference, and that they shouldn’t believe for a moment that the UK is a nation of royalists. I’m hoping the visit will help influence the debate in both countries and highlight the irrelevance of the monarchy.”

The visit will be the king’s most significant overseas tour since his cancer diagnosis and his first to Australia as its head of state.