A slightly disturbed stay for Charles III. On a state visit to Australia and the Samoa Islands, the British sovereign and his wife Camilla attended a mass this Sunday, October 20, at the Anglican church of Saint Thomas, in the north of Sydney.
But several protesters gathered in front of the building brandishing signs demanding to “decolonize” Australia and accusing King Charles III of leading an “empire built through genocide.”
With this nine-day trip to Australia and the Samoa Islands – Charles III’s first trip abroad since the announcement of his cancer – the British sovereign hopes to reinforce the prestige of the monarchy before a disinterested Australian public.
A recent poll revealed that around a third of Australians are in favor of abolishing the monarchy, a third are in favor of keeping it and a third have no opinion. With the exception of a handful of convinced royalists and fervent republicans, Australians were largely indifferent to Charles’s visit.
“Great joy” to be back in Australia
Still, Australia holds many happy memories for Charles, who expressed his “great joy” at being back in the country during a speech to the New South Wales state legislative council this Sunday, October 20.
“I first came to Australia almost 60 years ago, which is a bit worrying. (…) All I have to do now is say how happy I am to come for the first time as sovereign,” he said.
Royalist fervor in the country in 2024 is, in any case, much less than during the last royal visit in 2011, when thousands of people flocked to greet Queen Elizabeth II.
Source: BFM TV
