Sydney, Australia – Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told television interview with Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, reinforced her argument for Australia to sever its constitutional ties to the British monarchy. Turnbull met the couple in April 2018, four months before being replaced by current Prime Minister Scott Morrison in an internal struggle for power.
“It is clearly an unhappy family or at least Meghan and Harry are unhappy. It looks very sad,” Turnbull told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“After the queen’s reign ends, it’s time for us to say: OK, we have passed that watershed. We really want to have whoever the head of state is – the king or queen of the United Kingdom, automatically our head of state ? “Turnbull added.
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In the couple’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan said she hoped to serve as a beacon of hope for blacks everywhere, but particularly in Commonwealth nations – many of whom are in Africa – signaling acceptance within the highest echelon of society and British power.
The Duchess said she was devastated by the lack of support she received from the royal family, however, while struggling with mental health problems, and on several occasions she and Harry made it clear that they felt there were racial overtones in this treatment.
British Commonwealth
Australia is one of just over 50 countries that, although independent, have chosen to maintain close partnership and cooperation with the United Kingdom after abandoning the colonial rule imposed centuries ago during the reign of the British Empire.
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As a member of this British Commonwealth, Australia continues to recognize the British monarch as its formal head of state, although neither Queen Elizabeth II nor the UK government plays any real role in the governance of the former colony, which gained independence 100 years ago. years old.
Turnbull was one of Australia’s leading advocates, selecting an Australian citizen as head of state when he was president of the Australian Republican Movement from 1993 to 2000.
A referendum on Australia becoming a republic was defeated in 1999, despite opinion polls showing that most Australians believed their country should have an Australian head of state.
Many defenders of an Australian republic want an American system in which the president is elected by the people, rather than serving as a figurehead, as proposed in 1999.
Morrison was not asked about the actual interview at a news conference on Tuesday.