PRINCE Charles met Australia¹s new staunchly republican prime minister today as an opinion poll showed most Australians favour abolishing the monarchy if he becomes King.
The heir to the throne was welcomed to the national capital Canberra on the tarmac at a military base by new prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who did his best to deflect questions about his support for replacing the monarch with an Australian-born head of state.
If Charles becomes King of the United Kingdom - and I have no doubt that he will be - unless our constitution has been changed, he will become the King of Australia, he said in response to a question about his previous criticism of the heir to the throne.
Asked if he were happy about that, the prime minister replied: "I am a happy person and as I said, there's never been a better time to be an Australian."