Monarchists in Australia on Wednesday seized the opportunity to knock back their republican rivals as news of Prince William’s engagement to Kate Middleton was cheered in the Asia-Pacific.
In the former colony Down Under, the royal romance between the second-in-line to the British throne and the commoner daughter of a wealthy businessman was welcomed by the group Australians for Constitutional Monarchy.
“Everybody loves a wedding,” national convenor David Flint said.
“They’re both attractive, glamorous young people — that will cause interest. And of course it confirms the monarchy in people’s minds because people will be reminded that he will one day be king of Australia,” he added.
Australians voted against becoming a republic in a 1999 referendum but a visit by Prince William earlier in 2009 proved wildly popular among the public, with some commentators seeing it as a boon for the royalist movement. The Australian Monarchist League said the nuptials would “undoubtedly” set back the republican campaign, with “huge interest” among younger people in the nation, whose official head of state is Queen Elizabeth II.
—AFP