King Charles will arrive in Australia on the 18th. This will be his first (!!!) visit/tour to a “British realm” as king. As in, a country which still has the British monarch as their head of state. In recent weeks, Buckingham Palace courtiers have been gently trying to lower expectations for the trip and add some sympathetic layers for Charles. Charles is pausing his cancer treatments for the tour, and they’re limiting his schedule because no one knows how tired he’ll be. They’re telling people that the point of the tour is to show people that he’s still alive. The bar is, as always, in hell. Well, now they’re saying that Charles will travel with two doctors, neither of which is the king’s in-house homeopath. LMAO.
The King will take two doctors with him on his 11-day trip to Australia and Samoa. Charles’s visit to Sydney and Canberra will be his first visit of the reign to a Commonwealth realm. To make it possible, the King will pause the cancer treatment he has been undergoing since his diagnosis in February.
The 75-year-old monarch will be monitored closely during the visit. A palace source said that the decision to pause treatment and resume it when he returns to Britain followed doctors’ advice. It is understood that Michael Dixon, the head of the royal medical household, who is known for his interest in homeopathy, will not be one of the doctors travelling with the King.
Steps taken to support Charles abroad are understood to be the same as previous arrangements put in place for the late Queen. They included travelling with a supply of the monarch’s blood, to ensure an exact match if a transfusion was needed. As well as travelling with his own doctors, the King will be supported by medical teams in Australia and Samoa. In Australia, the itinerary has been designed with the King’s health in mind: the King and Queen will have a rest day and there will be no evening engagements.
Hugo Vickers, the historian and author, said: “I’m sure that the medical team has been consulted and will look after the King and make sure that he doesn’t overwork, as we know he has a propensity to do. I’m sure he wouldn’t be undertaking the trip unless he was fit enough to do it.”
In Samoa, the King and Queen will arrive in the evening and attend a state dinner. The King will meet Commonwealth heads of government in Samoa and has had a series of phone calls with leaders in preparation. In Australia he is due to visit the Sydney Opera House and attand a barbecue, and said to be looking forward to meeting the public. Given his continued ill health, however, a planned visit to New Zealand was cut from the tour.
If I’m being honest, I do feel a tad sorry for Charles. He waited seventy-plus years to become king and now, two years after his mother’s passing, it’s like he’s holding the whole operation together with scotch tape and glitter. Notice how no one has even suggested that it probably would have been better to send the heir, or that the heir should be stepping up to do more to help his ancient father who still has cancer. Speaking of the whole thing falling apart, the palace corresponded with an Australian republican group about what Charles would do if Aussies want a republic:
King Charles has confirmed that it is up to the Australian people to decide whether the country remains a constitutional monarchy or becomes a republic. Ahead of the King’s visit to Australia next week, the Australian Republic Movement exchanged letters with Buckingham Palace officials, writing on the King’s behalf.
Correspondence from the palace, first revealed by the Daily Mail, says that “whether Australia becomes a republic” is a “matter for the Australian public to decide”.
The letter sent by palace officials restates the existing position, rather than marking any new change in policy – and Buckingham Palace is not saying anything further to the letter’s contents. But it is an amicable exchange, following a request by a group campaigning for a republic to have a meeting with the King during his visit.
“The King appreciated that you took the time to write and asked me to reply on his behalf,” says the letter from Buckingham Palace to the Australian Republic Movement, written in March. “Please be assured that your views on this matter have been noted very carefully. His Majesty, as a constitutional monarch, acts on the advice of his Ministers, and whether Australia becomes a republic is therefore a matter for the Australian public to decide.” The letter adds that the King and Queen have a “deep love and affection” for Australia and “your thoughtfulness in writing as you did is warmly appreciated”.
Canada’s being pretty quiet, eh? I think Aussies will be the first ones to get a big crack at becoming a republic, and all of the other British realms will watch what happens. I hope it happens in the next decade or so. Anyway, I think the palace’s response was polite – as I said, this sh-t is barely being held together during Charles’s reign. I doubt “King William” will bother with any of this.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.