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0 ‘A possible tour’ by King Charles to Australia later this year hardly seems like news to get us stringing up the bunting or popping the streamers.
At any other time, such an inconclusive announcement from the office of the Australian Prime Minister might suggest that the King has only muted interest in a jaunt to the colonies.
And only if His Royal Highness doesn’t get a better offer.
The past two weeks of royal woe have changed all that. Right now, the idea that Charles might – just might – may make his first visit Down Under since becoming King is a bright light in an ocean of gloom.
Prince Charles attends Australia Day Celebrations in London in 2011
Prince Charles holds a koala called Kao while Camilla has her hands on a bear called Matilda at Government House in Adelaide in 2012
Prince of Wales using a bush saw to fell a tree during a trip to Timbertop, an annexe of the Geelong Grammar School in Victoria
Not only does it offer the first sign that the 75-year-old King’s cancer treatment might eventually be successful, it underscores how important the relationship between the two nations remains – to both sides.
The King will miss the Commonwealth Day service next Monday as he continues to receive treatment, but he takes his role as head of the 56 member states extremely seriously.
He has even recorded a special message which will be broadcast round the world to mark the event.
In fact, his decision to press on with the planned trip to Australia speaks volumes of his desire to protect and maintain a shared relationship which, if truth be told, is vital for both parties – however much bickering has taken place along the way.
In the years leading up to Queen Elizabeth’s death in 2022 the conversation in Australia tended to assume that, while we respected Her Majesty, the same affection would not be bestowed on her son.
There was a growing expectation that the country would break ties with the monarchy and be governed by its own Head of State.
Not that anyone knew what this might look like – which is partly why the referendum on a republic fell over when it went to the vote in 1999.
A quarter of a century later, the push for independence has never looked more feeble.
Bizarrely, the crown-and-castle caper we were apparently so anxious to jettison has been replaced by something midway between curiosity and respect.
Here, where the royal family are neither an institutional fixture nor a backdrop to daily life, the shenanigans of recent years served largely as entertainment.
As Megxit unfolded, we observed from afar as if watching the Kardashians, only with crowns.
Yet the Sussex defection did little for the republican cause.
Instead – and rather peculiarly – it seemed to solder our allegiance to this problem-riven family with the ageing matriarch, a gradually rehabilitated heir, his two motherless sons and their glamorous wives.
Duty, service, steadfastness – those qualities we’d so admired in the woman who reigned for 70 years, were suddenly thrown into stark relief by Harry and Meghan’s antics.
Here in the land where anybody who has tickets on themselves is quickly brought down to size, the new King, his good-humoured wife and the picture-perfect Wales family seemed the epitome of dignity and tireless hard work.
Here where there is little respect for moaning or posturing, Harry’s hypocrisy in constantly blasting his family while still dipping into the titles and trappings it affords has not won him any fans.
Our loyalty to Britain is built on characteristics that are as traditional as they are modern: shared values, togetherness, democracy, allegiance, good-humoured rivalry and – in these troubling global times – a deep commitment to peace.
Indeed, when the palace announced the King had cancer, even the Australian Republican Movement sent good wishes.
Prince Charles, in suitable headgear, meets locals in the outback at Longreach, Queensland in 2012
The Prince was in a party of Geelong schoolboys visiting the island of Papua New Guinea
Announcing the ‘possible’ royal visit yesterday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pointed out that King had ‘shown compassion for Australians affected by recent natural disasters, just as Australians have shown compassion and support for the King following his cancer diagnosis.
‘The King, Queen and members of the Royal Family are always welcome in Australia,’ he said.
Post-cancer, Australia will be a soft landing place for the monarch who has always adored the continent since living here as a schoolboy. He regards his spell at Geelong Grammar as one of the happiest times of his life and certainly the highlight of his schooling.
‘Quite frankly, it was by far the best part, he said in a speech years later. ‘I had the Pommy bits bashed off me. Like chips off an old block.’
Is it premature to announce a visit so shortly after a cancer diagnosis?
Perhaps there’s been no choice in the matter. Planning for a tour can take many months with multiple state and territory groups involved.
It could even dovetail with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa in October.
In any case, it was probably only a matter of time before news of a visit leaked.
No doubt, too, the King is keen to broadcast keen to broadcast some positive news – while, in the process, strengthening the relationship with a nation which has stood side-by-side with Britain through wars, disasters and hotly contested sporting matches.
Charles might even wish to match his mother’s tally of 16 tours Down Under. To date, he has visited on 15 occasions.
As for his itinerary, Victoria – the state where he enjoyed his time at Geelong – is likely to feature, not only because he hasn’t visited since 2012 but because illness, particularly in later life, tends to make one reflective.
Tasmania might also beckon with its beautiful landscape, sustainability projects and food culture. The cooler temperatures there would likely suit the Queen who struggled in the 40-degree heat during the couple’s visit in 2018 to Queensland and the Northern Territory.
As for how they will be greeted, interest in the royal family remains high.
The Australian Women’s Weekly continues to run detailed features on the royal family and Sky News, where the focus is typically on news and commentary, added a new weekly show, The Royal Report, at the beginning of last year.
In the newsroom the leaderboard of highest-rating stories typically features royal news in the top five spots.
Unstuffy Australia has long offered what the royals yearn for: freedom from conformity, an easy outdoors lifestyle, egalitarian social networks, and big open spaces to breathe out and re-evaluate.
It’s where Lady Diana Spencer secretly holed up back in 1981 when she was considering a Prince Charles’s marriage proposal.
It’s where Prince Harry spent time as a jackaroo, aged 19.
As he said in Spare, he enjoyed mustering cows. They were creatures who needed their space, he noted. Just like him.
Prince Charles shakes hands with students from Geelong Grammar school in 2005. He spent time there in in 1966 as a 17-year old student
Prince Charles,and Diana wear hard hats and goggles for a 1985 visit to the Alcoa Aluminium Smelter Project in Geelong
Magic Millions ambassador, Zara Tindall, takes part in the Barrier Draw in January this year
The Tindalls have become regular visitors to Australia and – their daughter claims to support the Wallabies not the England rugby union side
It’s a special place for the Tindalls, too.
Princess Anne’s daughter, Zara met rugby playing husband Mike in the Manly Wharf Bar in 2003 when he was drowning his sorrows after being dropped from the England squad before the World Cup semi-finals.
The Tindalls have become regular – and welcome – visitors. When it comes to rugby, in fact, it seems that daughter Mia supports the Wallabies not England
This is a big moment for the British Monarchy but also for the British nation – and Australia. Family counts for something, after all.
