Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is accused of breaking royal protocol: ‘This is not how to deal with the King’
- Australian PM gave King open invitation
- Royals waiting on official invite
- Monarch ‘disquieted’ by delay
Anthony Albanese is yet to formally invite King Charles III to visit Australia, sparking ‘disquiet’ within the monarch and accusations of not following royal protocol.
The Prime Minister gave an open invitation when he met Australia’s new head of state in London at the time of Queen Elizabeth II‘s funeral.
But seven months on, Mr Albanese, a republican, is yet to follow up on that promise with an official invitation for the King to visit Australia for the 17th time, his first as head of the monarch.
It’s traditional for the monarch to visit Australia within 12 months of being crowned, according to royal biographer Robert Jobson.
Anthony Albanese (right) offered an open invitation for King Charles III (left) to visit Australia last September but reportedly hasn’t followed up with an official invite
‘This is not how to deal with the King. You need to invite his majesty to visit Australia, one of the senior Commonwealth realms, so the palace can then plan the trip,’ Mr Jobson told News Corp.
‘They’ve had conversations, and Charles is keen to connect with the people he is serving in Australia as king once again, but the Australian prime minister is in no rush to send a formal invite,’ a source close to the monarch added.
‘The King is an old monarch and wants to get on with it.
‘As is protocol, he cannot act upon anything until he receives an official invite.’
The Australian Monarchist League added last year’s invite wasn’t official, noting the government would have made a public announcement.
The issue could be resolved in the coming weeks when Mr Albanese returns to London for the King’s coronation.
King Charles III has previously visited Australia 17 times as the Prince of Wales, the most recent in 2018.
Anthony Albanese (pictured second left at the Qantas 100th Gala Dinner) will return to London next week for the coronation of King Charles III
King Charles III (left) hosted Anthony Albanese (right) at Buckingham Palace days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II
A spokeswoman for Mr Albanese reiterated he has personally and publicly invited the King to visit Australia
‘He personally invited the King in an official capacity last year,’ she said.
It comes just months after the Reserve Bank of Australia announced that King Charles III would not replace his late mother Queen Elizabeth II on the $5 banknote.
Mr Albanese met with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace in London last September.
He wouldn’t reveal what was discussed in the private audience due to royal protocol keeping all meetings strictly confidential, but hinted that climate change was part of his discussion.
Mr Albanese described meeting the King as ‘a warm gathering’ and that ‘this is a time of respect, that is what is required here’.
He told reporters the door was always open for the Royal Family to come to Australia.
‘As the Australian head of state he is always a welcome visitor and he always has been to Australia,’ he said.
‘I do intend to have further discussions with King Charles.’
A proposed visit for King Charles III would be his 18th trip to Australia. He’s pictured in Darwin on a previous royal tour in 2018