ABCDiamond

A lot of people seem to want William to take over, and bypass Charles.

That could be interesting, Britain could have King Charles, and Australia could have King William, at the same time.

fish.01

Yes but it is their red dot. Simple, instantly recognisable, unique, matches their motto of "land of the rising sun" and represents Japan to all who see it.

fish.01

I agree. It should come after as people will take a while to come around.

fish.01

The numbers could be correct but I would be surprised if a tv poll is accurate. They usually aren't.

Neil52

How do you work that out? there can only be one King and it will be Charles....does not matter what folk want Charles is what they will get and a very fine King he will make....top man

fish.01

I think Australia's monarch is legally separate to the British monarch so maybe he means it is technically possible for Australia to have a different monarch to Britain.

balkanghost

Personally I see too much US style imported flag waving going on in Oz, which never happened in the past (John Howard encouraged a lot), but interesting that even older conservative types in the bush do question the flag...

Big issue with republic was whether Head should be elected direct, or by parliament (the cheaper option), and again, as reported by "The Economist", before last referendum (with loaded questions) John Howard was not going to comment, but of course he then did not shut up for two weeks before the vote....

Some Australian republicans are quite pessimistic, see this article with comments from readers:

Flag-wavers, politicians and jingoism push a republic further away. AUSTRALIA should become a republic. But it won't for a very long time, if ever. There's a better than even chance that the change won't come during the lifetime of any Australian alive today

Swerv-o

Australia doesn't necessarily have to become a republic at all. It could just as easily maintain it's status as a constitutional monarchy, just with a King/Queen that is not tied to the British throne - maybe selected locally.

I personally like the current system of the government appointing a figure of Australian merit to the position of Governor General, and think this should be carried over to any future republic. It would be a great shame to introduce all the nonsensical rubbish that would go along with selecting an elected president.


S

Zambia

I disagree William is well liked and does not hold the baggage that Charles has accumulated. Lets be honest not many people reckon Charles is all that handsome a prince and dont go there on the missus. Nobody could hang coronation pictures for fear of scaring away the public.

If William was coronated the income from Hello Magazine on the event pictures would keep them without bothering the state for years.

In pure marketing terms Charles is a disaster and William sells himself. Better still if he Marries that Kate chick and behaves.

ABCDiamond

For England maybe... but Australia is different: Elizabeth the 1st, of Australia, is the Queen in her own right here, not as the British Queen.

In the UK you are right, it does not matter what folk want, Elizabeth the 2nd is the Queen and she decides who follows her.

But in Australia, options are open, it could be different.

JAJ

She doesn't decide ... succession is determined by legislation (Act of Settlement) and Parliament could decide on an alternative. However, the legislation would have to be changed before the death of the monarch, as succession is instantaneous.

Similarly, in Australia, Parliament could amend Australian succession legislation (for the Australian monarchy) independently of what goes on in Britain.

MartinLuther

The current situation is that the Monarch of Aus is the same as the Monarch of the UK (and all the other places that share that monarch). Although the Monarchs of Aus and UK have been separated as legal entities, the person hasn't. For Aus to have a different person (to the UK) as Monarch would require more than just a change to the succession law and and act of parliament to change or skip the next in line. It would probably be easier to change to a republic than to have a different Monarch to the UK.

Also I believe Charlie wants to be known as King George if he ever makes it. (Maybe he is a fan of the film Australia?)

kporte

I think it may be more to do with the fate of Charles 1 and 2!

MartinLuther

Seriously?

kporte

Charles the first was beheaded and Charles the second I believe, died of an epilectic fit. Charlie will not be crowned as Charles due to the deaths of previous monarchs.