King Charles III and Queen Camila landed safely in Sydney last night, despite a momentary spot of bad weather typical of the season.
Labor Premier Chris Minns managed to find some loose change to light up the Sydney Opera House in honour of their arrival.
His government was heavily criticised for failing to do so in celebration of the Coronation (and then followed up the insult by almost immediately lighting up the sails for the Prime Minister of India).
Following information obtained by the LNP, one staffer admitted that the decision was ‘more political’ than cost-based. Monarchists were furious with the Premier, accusing him of basing the decision on ‘republican sympathies’.
It is the same complaint made earlier in the week when it was discovered that all of Australia’s Premiers had invented pathetic excuses to avoid meeting the King. The public were not impressed.
Last week, we interviewed award-winning composer Alexander Voltz of the Australian Monarchist League. When asked whether republicans would behave themselves this time out of respect for the King and his illness, he replied:
‘No. The republicans are planning several demonstrations throughout the King’s tour. Perniciously, they are being funded by the UK republicans which, as far as I am concerned, would almost seem to constitute foreign interference in our domestic political affairs.’
He went on to say:
‘Let us take the Royal Family out of it, the Crown out of it for a moment. Obviously, I think this is a massive undertaking for the King. He is a cancer patient. He is very ill. And he is still committed to serving his Commonwealth realms, like Australia.
‘…there are people who do not want this tour to succeed and one of them is the Albanese government. They do not want this to succeed because if it succeeds there will be a real decrease in republican sentiment across the country.’
“The republicans are planning several demonstrations throughout the King’s tour. Perniciously, they are being funded by the UK republicans which – as far as I am concerned – would almost seem to constitute foriegn interference.” – Alexander Voltz. pic.twitter.com/lbYS2nWTT8
— Alexandra Marshall (@ellymelly) October 19, 2024
While enjoying popularity among conservatives, the King has been criticised by some for the position he has taken in relation to the United Nations and COP conferences on climate change. This year he will not be attending COP due to illness. When asked if it was a good thing that the King was being divorced from these political events, Mr Voltz replied:
‘The King has done a remarkable job from day one as the monarch. He has really divorced a lot of his personal beliefs from his operations as a sovereign. He always said that he would do that.
‘…a lot of his predictions about certain things have been very true. His views on architecture, for instance, I mean … look at the state of London! The King was actively campaigning against modern architecture as the Prince of Wales…
‘In some ways the King is a little prophetic, but at the end of the day, above the King is the Crown. That is the most important thing for all of us. For our nation.’
Last night, the King and Queen were met by the Governor-General, the Prime Minister and his wife, the NSW Premier and his mother, and a crowd of well-wishers.
This morning, photographers spotted the couple walking on the lawn of the Governor-General’s residence.
The tour marks the first time a reigning King has visited, although it is not the first time His Majesty has been to Australia, with King Charles expressing a particular love for this country.
For five days, the King and Queen will tour Australia on a slimmed-down schedule to account for the King’s health. The King will pay his respects to this nation by laying a wreath at the Australian War Memorial and then indulge his love of nature by touring the Royal Botanic Gardens.
From there, the CSIRO is set to show the King their research on bushfire resistance while the Queen engages with groups that support the victims of domestic violence.