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Even though I enjoy Australians and international politics, I have to admit that I wasn’t really paying attention back in September when Australia’s prime minister Tony Abbott – a douchebag of the highest order, many believed – was ousted. Malcolm Turnbull became Australia’s newest prime minister, and Turnbull has a long history as a small-R republican. As in, he wants Australia to cut its ties with the British monarchy and become a republic. Which might be why Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall set out for a grand tour of New Zealand and Australia this week. Their first stop was New Zealand, and it seems like the Kiwis are fine with the monarchy (for now). But Australia is another story altogether. Charles and Camilla will arrive in Australia on Sunday, and they’re basically flying into an anti-monarchist sh-tstorm.

The Daily Beast had a lengthy write-up about how Prime Minister Turnbull doesn’t have any patience for any of this royal family bollocks – go here to read. Apparently, one of Tony Abbott’s many disasters involved an executive decision to give Prince Phillip a knighthood, just for the hell of it, because apparently the Queen told someone that Phillip fancied getting an honor from the Aussies. Abbott reintroduced knighthoods without any consultation back in March 2014, a decision that was met with widespread derision within Australia. And earlier this week, Turnbull did away with the knighthoods altogether, saying: “Knights and dames are titles that are anachronistic, out of date and not appropriate, in 2015.”

While the future of the British monarchy may be secure in New Zealand, on Sunday Charles and Camilla will fly to Australia, and land in the midst of another storm. This one is a political and constitutional storm, and one that threatens to see Australia ditch Queen Elizabeth as head of state. Much, therefore, depends on Charles being able to charm the populace of Australia on this tour. Prepare for some major publicity stunts to showcase Charles’s chummy side.

Although Malcolm Turnbull said after his inauguration that there were “much more immediate issues facing me and the government than the republic”, there are many who believe Turnbull’s abolishment of Knights and Dames this week marks the beginning of a new assault on the status of the Monarch in Australia.

Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-Monarchy organization Republic, told The Daily Beast, “The monarch has only survived this long as head of state in Australia because for the last 11 years they have had monarchist Prime Ministers. Abbott will be the last time Australia has a monarchist Prime Minister. The scene is set for something to happen. There is an election coming up next year, and it is very possible that Turnbull will make a referendum in the next term part of his manifesto. Smith says that there is an increasing appetite to make the change now rather than waiting for the Queen to die and doing it then. It might make more sense—and be less ghoulish—to make a move in advance of her death, he says.

“The Queen will be 90 next year and that is starting to focus people’s minds that the time is coming.”

If Australia goes, it seems inevitable that a number of other realms—Jamaica and Barbados would be hot favorites—would also dump the Crown as head of state. The Australians are about as keen on the prospect of King Charles III as everyone else in the world who uses money with the Queen’s head on it. Charles will no doubt be aware that one wrong move or ill-thought word in the next 12 days could accelerate events dramatically.

[From The Daily Beast]

While I’m something of an apologist for the Prince of Wales, I do think that it was probably a mistake to send him to Australia during this tricky and politically sensitive moment? Charles is an acquired taste, you know? I feel like most people don’t really “get” Charles and his presence in Australia will likely do more harm than good. Then again, I doubt the Cambridges would have gotten a better reception. They are – despite Her Majesty’s best efforts – diplomatic lightweights incapable of taking on sensitive issues or anything that might require a delicate touch or a little finesse. Diana would have been more than capable, of course. Maybe Harry would have done some good if he had been sent. But it seems more than possible that in a year’s time, Australia will not be part of the commonwealth. Poor King Charles!

View image | gettyimages.com

View image | gettyimages.com

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