A new poll indicates 51 per cent of the Australian population would prefer their own head of state to Prince Charles as king, just as he undertakes a tour of the country.
Prince Charles
The heir to the British throne is currently on a visit to Australia with his wife Duchess Camilla just as the new poll of 1008 voters, commissioned by the ARM and conducted by Essential Research, was published.
When asked, "When Prince Charles becomes King of Australia, will you support or oppose replacing the British monarch with an Australian citizen as Australia's head of state?", only 27 per cent of voters opposed replacing the royal with an Australian head of state.
22 per cent of people were undecided.
ARM chairman Peter FitzSimons said told SMH.com.au: "We look forward to the day when members of the royal family make the trip as our equals and not Australia's current and future rulers.
"As our future king and his wife touch down for their five-day tour, the Australian people are getting behind the idea of an Australian head of state in a big way. And that support is only going to increase, especially if Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull makes it a priority as we hope and expect he will."
However, the prime minister avoided questions on his thoughts on the matter, commenting: "If the queen's reign comes to an end and the constitution is in the form it is today, Prince Charles will become our head of state ... so if Charles become the king of the United Kingdom as I have no doubt he will be, unless our constitution has been changed, he will become the king of Australia."
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