Prime Minister’s shock King Charles decision

Mr Albanese is in London for the coronation which takes place on Saturday night, Australia time.

On Tuesday, the PM met Charles at Buckingham Palace, remarking it was an “honour to represent Australia”.

Part of the ceremony will embody the “homage of the people” the place everybody in Westminster Abbey and watching elsewhere will be capable to pledge allegiance to the brand new king.

At some extent through the coronation individuals will likely be invited to say: “God save King Charles. Long live King Charles. May the King live forever”.

The oath isn’t obligatory however Mr Albanese instructed broadcaster Piers Morgan he can be participating.

On Tuesday night, UK time, the Prime Minister will seem on Piers Morgan Uncensored which is produced by Britain’s TalkTV and broadcast on Sky News in Australia.

Morgan tweeted that “die hard Republican” Mr Albanese “says he WILL swear the oath of allegiance to King Charles III in Westminster Abbey”.

The PM had dodged the identical query posed by Australian media in London on Monday.

Co-chair of the Australian Republic Movement ex footballer Craig Foster had urged the PM to snub the oath.

“We shouldn’t be expected to grovel before a King, or pledge obedience and neither should our members of parliament.

“A head of state should pledge their loyalty us, not the other way round. We need an anti-pledge,” he stated.

But whereas Mr Albanese’s antimonarchy views are well-known, because the prime minister of a rustic which is a Commonwealth realm it could have been awkward for him to not swear allegiance to Australia’s head of state.

Indeed, all Australian MPs are required to affirm their allegiance to the monarch of Australia earlier than they take their seats.

Currently 15 of the 56 Commonwealth nations share a head of state in Charles III. Known because the Commonwealth realms these unbiased nations embody the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Belize.

Since turning into Prime Minister, Mr Albanese has been diplomatic relating to his republican stance solely saying the problem was “important”.

He hasn’t immediately criticised the monarchy however has flagged the potential of a referendum on a republic – albeit not earlier than a attainable second time period in workplace and after The Voice vote.

“To me, it is inconceivable that the next change that we need for our constitution is anything other than recognising that our national birth certificate, which is what the Constitution represents, should acknowledge that history didn’t begin in 1788,” he stated final September.

However, Mr Albanese has appointed an assistant minister for the republic in Matt Thistlethwaite.

“We have a proxy representative in the Governor-General. But we can have an Australian as our head of state,” Mr Thistlethwaite stated final 12 months.

Nonetheless, the federal government is cautious of staging one other referendum except there’s a good likelihood of Australians voting to ditch their royal ties.

Last month the brand new Australian ambassador to the UK stated it was “inevitable” Australia would turn out to be a republic however he didn’t set out a timeline.

“There is a lot of affection and respect for the monarchy in Australia,” former overseas affairs Minister Stephen Smith, who has lately taken up the plum London put up, instructed The Times.

“That affection and respect hasn’t gone away because of Australia contemplating from time to time what it should do about its constitutional arrangements.

“My personal view is it’s inevitable. But how that’s progressed is entirely a matter for the Australian government of the day.

“Whether down the track there is a future referendum associated with Australia and the UK’s constitutional arrangements, only time will tell.”