Calls to dump King Charles as Head of State grow following coronation

While many in the UK and around the world celebrated the coronation of King Charles on May 6, it would seem some are not as enthusiastic about the new monarch with the Australian Republic Movement (ARM) hoping that Anthony Albanese would be the “final Prime Minister to have to pledge allegiance to a King”.

The ARM has seemingly attempted to drown out the cries of “God save the King” that rang out across the UK and in the homes of loyal monarchists around the world as they continue their push for Australia to become a republic.

During a recent interview with Weekend Today, the head of the Australian Republic Movement, Craig Foster claimed that “our Head of State should actually represent us and they should be pledging loyalty to us.”

“There are a lot of aspect of this ceremony as well which are problematic for many people across the Commonwealth and we have to remember that,” he said.

“There is a lot of people across the Commonwealth, First Nations and indigenous people and descend dents of slaves an the like for whom this is actually really painful.

“It also represents a lot of suffering.”

Co-Chair of the ARM, Nova Peris OAM also took issue with pledging allegiance to the King.

“To think that any self-respecting nation would bow before a foreign King is astounding. To think that a foreign King should expect that is an affront to all Australians,” Peris said.

The comments follow findings from a recent poll conducted by Pure Profile that found almost two-thirds of respondents (66 per cent) believed that King Charles didn’t represent their values.

In response to the findings, Peris said the Australian people firmly believed that neither King Charles nor the monarchy, as a whole, could serve as their representative.

“Australia now has a King that would never be chosen by Australians. Australians are overwhelmingly opposed to him and the idea of having a King at all,” Peris said.

“The concept of Kings and Queens is completely medieval and should be abolished.”

Foster stressed that it was imperative that Australians decide who should speak for us.

“In a democracy, we should have the right to choose leaders who represent us. Leaders who are accountable to us, stand up for our values and who put our nation first,” Foster said.

The debate regarding whether Australia should move away from the Monarchy has raged on for some time with the issue coming to the fore, particularly in the months following the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the ongoing drama surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.