The month of October ahead of the Royal visit turned the spotlight onto the Republic once again but it was only a brief spike in the end – by the end of the month, it was over like a shooting star, even before the 25th anniversary of the referendum in early November.
The Governor-General was prominent in placed media coverage with a picture shoot for the Australian Women’s Weekly October edition and a full length interview with SBS online on the 17th. The latter covered off a letter in reply that Charles had sent to ARM in March – made public that week – saying that “the Republic is a matter for the Australian public to decide”. That has been the standard response from the Palace for 30 years while he resisted calls to meet with republicans, respond to key matters of contention/interest or address the people.
As the start of the visit came closer, there were many articles in the media, letters to the editor and much discussion on social media. A poll claimed 45 percent support, 22 percent unsure for the constitutional monarchy (The Sunday Telegraph, 13 October 2024). Other matters highlighted included confusion over the legal status of the King’s Australian title (The Australian) while other commentators posited that this visit was “slimline” breaking with tradition (it wasn’t); that the visit puts the monarchy’s future in Australia back in focus or that it would reinvigorate the Republic push (it didn’t). Van Badham in The Guardian (17 October) wrote that King Charles should know that Australians don’t hate the royals, rather we wish he would lose interest in us – probably closer to the mark.
