Prince Charles declines Australian speech invitation
CANBERRA, Australia — Prince Charles has declined a cheeky invitation to explain why he, and not an Australian, should become the nation’s next head of state, an advocate for constitutional change said on Wednesday.
“It appears the prince is unable to answer this question,” the Australian Republic Movement said in a statement.
Australians have long been divided on whether the British monarch should continue to also be Australia’s head of state.
Australians had a chance to replace the British monarch with an Australian president as their head of state in a referendum in 1999. But the referendum rejected change. While opinion polls suggested most Australians wanted reform, they were split over whether a president should be appointed by Parliament or directly elected by the people.