New Zealand republicans are confidently protesting about their current royal visit. They challenge William to become a New Zealand citizen and emigrate so that he can properly represent them and say that they will never call him King because before he gets to the British throne, NZ will have a democratically elected head of state. A protest banner funded by the group was flown overhead while the royals took part in a yacht race on Auckland harbour. Meanwhile their recent polling has shown that two-thirds of 18-31 year olds favoured a New Zealand head of state. Best of all, their chair described royal PR attempts to make Kate and William look like they had a connection with New Zealand – for example, wearing the Queen’s silver fern brooch at every opportunity – were “a little bit desperate”. [“Prince William should immigrate and become a Kiwi if he wants to be New Zealand’s head of state, the head of New Zealand’s republican movement says” SBS News 8 April 2014]
Woman for an Australian Republic, Adelaide Ironside, republican poet and artist 1831-1867
Self portrait 1855, Newcastle Art Gallery NSW
