On the eve of King Charles III’s historic tour Down Under, many of his Antipodean subjects are unaware or uninterested – a sign, experts say, of a more diverse and less Anglo-centric Australia.
There are no red-white-and-blue decorations around Sydney Harbour, no posters on the city streets and, apart from the cries of enthusiastic monarchists and republicans, little about the first visit by a sitting Australian monarch in 13 years. There is no conversation at all.
“I’d forgotten they were even coming,” said Sydneysider Trevor Reeves, 73, summing up the mood in Australia’s biggest city.
The six-day royal visit to Sydney and Canberra will undoubtedly bring pomp, ceremony and plenty of media coverage.
Even with the event delayed due to Charles’ cancer diagnosis, there will be extraordinary group gatherings, including a concert in front of the Opera House and a huge community barbecue.
But few expect Charles and Camilla’s visit to match the buzz of nation-stopping royal visits of the past – including the visit by Charles and his first wife Diana in 1983.
Today Australians appear more preoccupied with the war in the Middle East, the US elections, or another group of British visitors – rock group Oasis – who will tour next year.
“I’m not excited, but I’m not angry at them coming out,” said Suzanne Loire, 72. “He doesn’t have much influence here.”
“Some people like it the same way they like movie stars,” said Lowaire, comparing the royals to music brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher.
“Are they going to fight again? Do they look terrible? It’s the same with the coming of the king and queen,” she said.
Historian Cindy McCreary of the University of Sydney believes the lack of attention to the royal visit is understandable amid concerns about war, climate change and cost of living.
“We are all living in a complex moment with global issues,” he said. “It’s natural to expect a more diverse reaction to the monarchy”.
However, decades-long demographic trends are also shaping perceptions.
a changing nation
According to the 2021 census, about 36 percent of Australians still identify as “English”, the country’s largest ancestry.
When the census first asked this question in 1986, the figure was 10 points higher.
Today about a third of Australians are born overseas, and the population is increasingly Italian, Greek, Lebanese, Indian or Chinese.
“It impacts how Australians engage or don’t engage,” McCreery said.
“In previous royal visits, people may have had a strong connection with Britain, but an increasing number of people do not necessarily have an immediate connection.”
Polls show that about a third of Australians would like to end the monarchy, a third would keep it and a third were undecided.
Therefore, no comprehensive constitutional change is likely to occur, and the issue has become politically moot.
While Australia voted against becoming a republic in 1999, the movement remains active, but in political purgatory.
Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese is a lifelong Republican and when he came into office he was also made a Minister for the Republic.
The post was quietly deleted earlier this year and Albanese has refused to go back to voters about the royals after a landslide defeat in a referendum on indigenous rights.
royal collector
The Royals are not without Australian fans.
Yet even Jan Hugo, one of the greatest collectors of royal memorabilia in the southern hemisphere, will not make the two-hour trip to see the King and Queen when they visit Sydney.
His home in rural New South Wales could be mistaken for a museum. Every corner is filled with over 10,000 pieces of royal memorabilia.
John Hugo is one of Australia’s foremost collectors of royal memorabilia.
Photo courtesy: AFP
Hugo admits that she has lost count of how many items she has.
“It’s probably a huge price for me and nothing for anyone else,” he said.
It all started 40 years ago when a commemorative coin was given to Charles and Diana for their engagement.
Now, much of Hugo’s home is dedicated to the royal family, with unusual decorations adorning the walls.
A large statue of Queen Elizabeth II sits on a throne surrounded by her beloved corgis.
Hugo said the republic debate comes to a head whenever the royals visit, but whatever decision Australia makes, they just hope they get some souvenirs.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
