Australian activists sell 'farewell tour' merch ahead of King Charles’ visit

The Australian Republican Movement (ARM) has launched a new campaign, calling King Charles's upcoming visit to Australia the "farewell tour" of the British monarchy.

They describe the tongue-in-cheek campaign, which includes a range of merchandise, as a way to ignite discussion about the relevance of the monarchy in contemporary Australia, though monarchists find it offensive.

Courtesy: Australian Republican Movement

The tour, scheduled from October 18 to 26, will be the first royal visit to Australia in more than a decade and is set to be King Charles's longest trip since his cancer diagnosis.

This visit also follows a year after Australia’s unsuccessful Voice to Parliament referendum, which has slowed momentum for another vote.

Changing Australia's constitution requires a referendum, which has an 80% failure rate. The country previously held a referendum in 1999 about becoming a republic, which was unsuccessful, but public support for the movement has grown since.

ARM's satirical campaign features posters, T-shirts, beer coasters, and other items, portraying the King, Queen, and Prince of Wales as aging rock stars and encouraging Australians "young and old" to "wave goodbye to royal reign."

"We expect a full-time, fully committed head of state whose only allegiance is to us – a unifying symbol at home and abroad," the movement's Co-Chair Esther Anatolitis said in a statement on Monday.

"It’s time for Australia to say ‘thanks, but we’ve got it from here’," she added.

The organisation referred to research it had commissioned, showing that 92% of Australians are either "supporters of a republic" or "open to it," and noted that at least 40% of respondents were unaware that the country’s head of state is a foreign monarch.

However, independent polling offers a different perspective, with one survey indicating that around 35% of Australians prefer to remain a constitutional monarchy.

The Australian Monarchist League (AML) called ARM's polling "inflated" and criticized the campaign as "terribly disrespectful to Charles given his ongoing cancer battle."

"He should be applauded for his bravery, not insulted,” National Chairman Philip Benwell said.

Australia's Prime Minister is a longtime republican, but his government shelved plans for a referendum on severing ties with the British monarchy earlier this year, stating it was no longer a priority.

Over the weekend, King Charles confirmed that he had exchanged letters with ARM ahead of his visit, reiterating the palace’s long-held stance that Australians should decide their own future.