Charles is the first king to visit Australia – but will he be the last?
The King and Queen arrive Down Under – but is it really their “Farewell Tour”?
The King and Queen are in Australia and Charles has become the first-ever king to visit, and only the second monarch. The late Queen was the first, when she made her seismic visit in 1954. And there has been much talk from anti-monarchists in Australia, that it’s Charles and Camilla’s “Farewell Tour”.
What the King and Queen think, they are keeping to themselves. On Friday they posted a lovely montage of previous visits to Instagram, writing, “Ahead of our first visit to Australia as King and Queen, we are really looking forward to returning to this beautiful country to celebrate the extraordinarily rich cultures and communities that make it so special. See you there! - Charles R & Camilla R.”
Kerry wrote an opinion piece for The Sunday Telegraph about the furore. Here’s an extract:
Farewell tour? I wouldn’t be so sure; we’ve heard it all before. As King Charles and Queen Camilla visit Australia this weekend, much has been made of the Australian Republic Movement’s declaration it’s their Farewell Tour, complete with merch to celebrate, with the slogan, “Let’s wave goodbye to royal reign!” “It’s time for Australia to say, ‘Thanks, but we’ve got it from here’,” co-chair Esther Anatolitis said in a statement.
King Charles is only the second-reigning monarch to visit Australia – but will he really be the last? I’m not so certain. I’d put money on making it a hat trick, when Prince William becomes King. Certainly, this tour is a marked change to the Queen’s first visit, 70 years ago, when an incredible one million Sydneysiders took to the streets to watch the new monarch’s arrival, half of whom had slept on the street the night before to make sure they got their spot.
However, even she experienced plenty of protests throughout her reign, as times, society and Australia, inevitably changed. By the time it came to her Silver Jubilee tour of Australia in 1977, she faced anti-royalist demonstrations when she arrived in Sydney. There were “boos and anti-royalist banners” among the crowds, according to a news story in The Canberra Times. When she and Prince Philip were driven around Sydney Cricket Ground in an open-top Land Rover, protesters in the stands unrolled a large banner saying, ‘Republic for Australia.’
Two decades after that, Australia famously voted in a republic referendum and the Queen stayed away until afterwards, not returning until 2000. That visit was also expected to be a Farewell Tour. However, in November 1999, Australia voted No and when the Queen did come back, she addressed it in a speech at Sydney Opera House. “Whatever the future may bring, my lasting respect and deep affection for Australia and Australians everywhere will remain as strong as ever,” she said.
A quarter of a century later, again, we find ourselves discussing the same question. Has Australia’s – and the UK’s for that matter - relationship with the monarchy shifted, once more? Yes. Will Australia become a republic? Undoubtedly. But will this really be a Farewell Tour? No. Not yet.
William’s trainergate!
From box fresh white trainers to a velvet tux, a stylish Prince of Wales hit the headlines this week. Spending time with teenagers he demonstrated his American Football skills, while the next day, William was looking dapper at the British Museum, where he attended the Centrepoint Awards.
At London’s Kennington Park on Tuesday morning, William was praised for his ‘incredible arm strength’ as he threw balls. He laughed that he would practise his NFL (National Football League) skills at home and “smash some windows” after joining the event hosted by the NFL Foundation UK, a charity working with young people in deprived areas.
However, it was the sight of his pristine white trainers that really got commentators talking. Apparently, William’s bright, white and gleaming footwear is deemed dreadfully common. Luckily, everyone loved his velvet tux worn at the Centrepoint Awards.
He later posted: “Celebrating the remarkable achievements of young people who have transformed their lives after experiencing homelessness. The Centrepoint Award winners and finalists have overcome so much and achieved incredible things in leadership, education and their communities. Congratulations to you all!”
Sophie’s emotional trip to Chad
The Duchess of Edinburgh made a historic trip to meet some of the hundreds of thousands of war victims at the Adré refugee camp on the border of Sudan and Chad.
In fact, hard-working Sophie is the first royal to visit this Central African region.
Despite the danger, as a supporter of the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, she was keen to highlight the brutalities inflicted and the plight of the women and children escaping the civil war in Sudan, who had shared their harrowing stories with her. Many of them reducing Sophie to tears.
“This is a human catastrophe that is vast, and Chad is having to pick up the pieces when it can ill afford to do so,” Sophie said. The three-day visit was made public on Monday, as the media was banned from reporting on it until the Duchess had safely left Chad.
Harry rules the waves!
Showing off his surfing skills, Harry makes riding the waves look easy. Which is why, we presume, his instructor, Raimana Van Bastolaer, posted this footage of the prince catching a wave like a pro.
Filmed at surfing legend Kelly Slater’s ‘Surf Ranch’ in California, the ranch features a six-foot barrelling wave that travels up to 2,300 feet and lasts for one minute. The clip of the surfing royal comes four years after it was claimed Meghan had bought Harry surfing lessons for his 36th birthday, shortly after they moved to the US and bought their home in Montecito.
Another home purchase is happening, this time in Portugal, according to reports this week. It’s understood they’re buying near Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, in the coastal town of Melides – dubbed the ‘Malibu of Europe’.
Eugenie and Jack split their time between the UK and the CostaTerra Golf and Ocean Club, where Jack works in marketing and sales. With the region’s almost 40 miles of white-powder beaches along the Atlantic coast, Harry could soon be gaining the title of Portugal’s Prince of the Surf.
Finally…. Sorry for spamming you!
On Monday we launched our new podcast Secrets of the Royals. While we were super-excited to share the six episodes with you, we didn’t mean to spam you with emails. We’re very sorry they were all emailed to you at once, this was a technical issue we did not intend to happen and we will make sure it doesn’t again.
So, in the meantime, if you haven’t checked them out yet, please do. The first season is now live and you can listen to all the episodes here on Substack, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or watch on YouTube. Do tell us what you think, we love hearing from you.