King Charles, the only British monarch to have lived in Australia, arrives in the country on Friday for his first official visit to British soil since being diagnosed with cancer and still undergoing treatment.

The last time Charles was in Australia was in November 2015, when he was still Crown Prince (centre photo). King Charles lived in Australia for six months in 1966, where he attended the prestigious Geelong High School.

Australians divided over monarchy

The first visit by a monarch in 13 years to Australia has brought back to the fore the question of whether a British monarch should be head of state with opinion polls showing Australians divided over whether they want to become a democracy – an issue which Charles has said that concerns Australians and they will have to decide.

A national referendum to make the country a democracy was voted down in 1999 and dropped from the political agenda of the ruling centre-left Labor Party after Queen Elizabeth’s death in 2022.

A poll published in newspapers of the News Corp group this week showed that 45% of Australians want their country to remain constitutional monarchy against 33% who want a democracy and the rest are undecided.

“Most Australians, whether they are in favor of a constitutional monarchy or a democracy, are very aware of the king’s sympathy for Australia,” says George Brandis, who served as Australia’s High Commissioner in London from 2018 to 2022.

Democratic sentiment in Australia is at a “very low level”, Brandis says.

At the same time, as Australia prepares for the king’s visit, pro-democracy activists are distributing leaflets with the message “monarchy farewell tour”.

“We would like to say goodbye to the monarchy,” says Nathan Hansford, co-chair of the Australian Democracy Movement.

Karolos’ program that will test his endurance

King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit Sydney and Canberra before heading to the Samoan Islands next week.

Their visit will be shorter and cover a smaller area than traditional royal tours, underscoring the care the medical team provides to the king as he undergoes treatment.

“Australians will appreciate that the King is being treated for cancer, yet he traveled so far and interrupted his cancer treatment to come to Australia,” George Brandis said.

Charles will also meet with cancer researcher Richard Scolier, who in January was named Australian of the Year for his work in treating melanoma.

Scolier is also using a world-first method to treat his own brain cancer.