An Australian Crown, not a President

28/10/2026

At Queensland Skeptics tonight, I asked, "Why talk about Australia’s Constitutional Monarchy?"

– Because culture is upstream of everything and our Head of State symbolizes our national identity.

Is there anything about our Head of State system that needs to change?
1. Practical, operational considerations; is it functional?
2. Are we truly independent? (Does it matter?)
3. Ideological objections, identitarian considerations

1.The Westminster system works very well; the U.S. has had 15+ government shutdowns, but Australia has only came close to it once, in 1975.
• Nominations for G-G have become too partisan (since Bob Hawke nominated Bill Hayden) because only the PM does it. The Australian Monarchist League suggests they be made jointly with the Opposition Leader. This should apply at the State level, too.
• Nominees should be experienced – 3 of the last 5 G-Gs were former State Governors, this should become the standard.
• State Governors are appointed directly by the King. That power should be transferred to the G-G for a more unified national system to evolve.

2. Ways Australia is not quite independent, even though the G-G exercises all the powers of the King and the crown is technically 'divisible'.
• We don’t have access to documents held by the Palace (i.e. correspondence with our Viceroys) for 30 years.
• Our parliament must copy-cat U.K legislative changes to the monarchy (i.e. 2013 succussion rules).
• We can’t influence the behaviour of the King like the UK government can. Their PM meets the King every week. King Charles has been more vocal in issues than his mother was, cause controversy.
• Abolition in the UK - A real test. We need a backup plan. Prof Anne Twomey says there'd be no crisis because 'nothing in the UK can affect us since the Australia Act, 1986, but, what happens if King Charles become ordinary Mr Charlie Windsor, UK citizen? Parliament can legislate (without a referendum) to decide who succeeds, but a referendum is needed to abolish the office of G-G.

3. Ideological objections. The King isn’t Australian; few people understand that the 'divisibility' of the crown.
• Monarchy symbolizes wealth inequality: We could have a modern, modest monarchy modeled on the G-G’s Office, publicly funded regalia, ceremonial except for the Reserve Powers.
• Objections to the privilege of inheriting the throne, but it is more about duty and family is ubiquitous & familiar.

Let’s take 25 years to consider a referendum to either install an elected head or retaining the benefits of the current system with an Australian dynasty. A lot of education is needed.

To learn more, see here: https://equanimity.blog/australian-constitutional-monarchy/

26/10/2026

To Change or Not to Change - (cont.)

Monarchy Is Not All About Tradition

The merits of a modern constitutional monarchy are not tradition as such. A modern monarchy’s method of succession is an experience we all share and that ties us all to nature. We are all bound by the common experience of birth and death. It is, therefore, a connection to the present, as well as the past. The centrality of family in society is the basis of its modern legitimacy, when it is sanctioned by parliament.

Family First exists to restore Australia by restoring the primacy of the family in public policy. This will be achieved through a grass roots political party which raises courageous voices in our nation’s parliaments. We will fight against the radical anti-family attitudes and policies of modern p...

26/10/2026

William would do well to take the Commonwealth of Nations in a new direction that reaffirms the Anglo-Celtic nations. It is currently directionless. Any country can join it. It should be two concentric circles: The Inner Circle are the Anglo-Celtic majority realms (Australian, Canada, and New Zealand and yes the U.S.A.) and an Outer Circle (or caucus) of realms where the UK monarch is still the Head of State. Boot out all the other nations.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17qwAfkx8y/

Interesting royal news from The Times…

King Charles is heading to the Caribbean this week for a major tour and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, and according to a new report, he may well be the last British royal to serve as Head of the Commonwealth.

The Sunday Times reports that Prince William does not plan to take on the role when he becomes King. After his difficult 2022 Caribbean tour, William said: “Who the Commonwealth chooses to lead its family in the future isn’t what is on my mind.” Sources close to him have now confirmed that position hasn’t changed.

The role isn’t hereditary; Commonwealth leaders decide who holds it. So this could mark a real shift for the organisation in the years ahead.

25/10/2026

To Change or Not to Change - Monarchies Are Made (cont.)

Constitutional monarchy has often been chosen as the preferred form of government. Some of these have been the product of a tug of war for power amongst aristocrats or between them and plebeian classes. The 16th century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth introduced an elective monarchy, whereupon members of domestic noble families or external dynasties were elected to the throne for life. The Holy Roman Empire is perhaps the best known elective monarchy and the current ones include Cambodia, the Holy See, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. Most of these monarchs have too much power to be considered constitutionally limited by Australian standards. A life-long appointment (or until resignation, as in the case of Pope Benedixt XVI) has the monarchical advantage of a familiar and more readily identifiable leader, but the complication of requiring a method of election. Again, we’re not talking about self-appointed heads of state for life like Xi Jinping.

Brazil and Mexico became independent constitutional empires in the 19th Century. More recently Spain (1978) and Cambodia (1993) became constitutional monarchies.

In recent times, indigenous monarchical movements in Hawaii and New Zealand appear to have been modelled [sic] on and inspired by European monarchies, to bring some unity to people previously divided into smaller entities.

https://equanimity.blog/australian-constitutional-monarchy/ -are-made

23/10/2026

To Change or Not to Change (cont.)

Monarchies are Made

Many constitutional monarchies have a long history of having evolved from early feudal states of monarchical autocracy. The survivors of this evolution have avoided overthrow in popular (and some not-so-popular) revolutions. England was one of them; although it became a republic from 1649 – 1660 (called the Commonwealth), parliament agreed to restore the crown.

Oliver Cromwell was offered the crown.

The line of succession in almost all monarchies has been interrupted, either for political or religious reasons or through deception. Also, rules of succession have disqualified women and illegitimate offspring. The oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world, Japan, cannot verify direct ancestry to its original Emperor Jimmu:

Japan, considered a constitutional monarchy under the Imperial House of Japan, is traditionally said to have originated with the mythical Emperor Jimmu. The first verifiable historiographical evidence begins with Emperor Kinmei in the 6th century (Wikipedia)

22/10/2026

Some say Monarchy is an outdated tradition.

Family isn’t outdated, and of course it isn’t a ‘tradition’. It’s where we all come from; the loins of a man and woman. Family is the most fundamental unit in society. Today we accept that it can take many forms. A royal family is better known than a viceroy – we more readily identify and empathize with them as they, like we, go through the ups and downs of life. Also, it relieves us of the burden of voting.

Canadian Historian Jacques Monet once noted “A king is a king, not because he is rich and powerful, not because he is a successful politician, not because he belongs to a particular creed or to a national group. He is King because he is born. And in choosing to leave the selection of their head of state to this most common denominator in the world – the accident of birth – [people] implicitly proclaim their faith in human equality; their hope for the triumph of nature over political maneuver, over social and financial interest; for the victory of the human person.”
Monarchy New Zealand

The role of a symbolic head of state is to be a unifying representative. It’s power is very limited and proscribed to arbitration in special circumstances. By including an element of fate in determining who arrives at the position, the contentiousness of elections is removed. A managed monarchy is not entirely without choice; it provides a pool of candidates in the line of succession. Electing a symbolic head of state is taking choice too far.

https://equanimity.blog/australian-constitutional-monarchy/ -change-or-not-to-change

21/10/2026

To Change, or Not to Change

Whilst some see no need for any change in Australia's constitutional monarchy system, others do, and some of their reasons are:

- The King of England symbolizes wealth inequality and illegitimate power privilege.
- Monarchy is an outdated tradition.
- The Sovereign isn’t Australian and is in absentee.

In this post, let us address the first objection.

In some constitutional monarchies, the sovereign’s elaborate circumstances are not personal property, but state-owned. Undue or unseemly personal wealth, especially if the position in any way enabled it, would quite rightly bring the monarchy into disrepute, should a member of the royal family attempt to accumulate a fortune. An Australian monarchy would be supplied with regalia befitting the nation’s symbolic Head of State and that regalia would be limited and expected to endure.

The monarch’s power would be legitimized by a referendum and as we all know, the privilege is a duty to serve, not be served. Many do not envy the royal family their lot in life.

Public opinion has influenced the line of succession in Britain, such as King Edward VIII‘s abdication in 1936 and the same can be expected here.

19/10/2026

France has alternated between republics and monarchies since the French Revolution in 1789, with five republics and several monarchies and empires established over time. The First Republic began in 1792 after the monarchy was abolished, followed by the First Empire under Napoleon, then the Bourbon Restoration, the July Monarchy, the Second Republic, the Second Empire under Napoleon III, the Third Republic, the Vichy regime during World War II, the Fourth Republic, and the current Fifth Republic since 1958.

The case for a new French monarchy is similar to that for Australia and Iran. It should be an improvement on what has gone before. For all three countries, a downsized monarchy with a clearly limited and stabilizing role, similar to that of Australia's Governor-General, would provide protection for democracy and a clearly identifiable representative of the nation's ethnicity, embodied in an enduring personage from a dynasty open to marriage outside its circle. The crown is a duty and should be passed down the line to whoever is best suited and is willing to fulfill the duty.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ELG2SJ83V/

More than 230 years after the French Revolution, a descendant of Saint Louis IX is calling for the restoration of the French monarchy. 🇫🇷✝️

Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, is a direct descendant of the French royal dynasty that ruled France for centuries.

Recognized by French Legitimist monarchists as Louis XX, he traces his ancestry to some of the most famous rulers in European history, including Saint Louis IX, Henry IV, and Louis XIV.

But what makes his story particularly fascinating is his vision for France's future.

In interviews, the Duke of Anjou has argued that a restored monarchy could help strengthen national unity, preserve France's historical identity, and provide greater institutional continuity.

He believes that monarchy should adapt to the modern world while remaining faithful to the traditions that shaped France.

His ancestor, Saint Louis IX, ruled France from 1226 to 1270 and became one of the most celebrated Catholic monarchs in history.

Remembered for his devotion to the Church, concern for justice, and personal piety, he was canonized in 1297.

Today, Louis de Bourbon continues to represent the royalist tradition, although France remains a republic and the restoration of the monarchy is a minority political position.

More than two centuries after the fall of the old French monarchy, the descendants of its kings continue preserving an extraordinary chapter of European history.

From Saint Louis IX to Louis XX, a royal lineage spanning nearly 800 years. 🇫🇷✝️

18/10/2026

A Preamble For A New Australian Identity

Federal/State integration of Governorships presents an opportunity for greater national unity and establishment of an independent Australian identity. This includes the creation of a Preamble to the constitution. The Australian Constitution doesn’t have a Preamble. What we think of as the Preamble is in fact a preamble to the U.K. Parliament’s Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (UK) 1900 (Parliamentary Education Office). To create a Preamble, a coordinated request from all the States is required under Section 51 (###viii) (Dr Renato Costa).

This could be part of the program for integrating our Governorships that I describe in my upcoming book, 'Australian Renaissance' that allows us to explore the monarchy versus electoral systems for our Head of State arrangements. An outcome of this is a Preamble that recites our history and the what we see as the modern purpose of the constitution; a Preamble that brings together the issues of Aboriginal sovereignty, reconciliation, the Head of State and our national holiday (Australia Day). Should this happy day ever dawn, it could be the new Australia Day; the culmination of an Australian Renaissance.

All of this depends on developing conventions. One weak link in the chain – an uncooperative Premier – and the chain breaks.

The images were taken at Government House, Brisbane, Queensland after the passing of QEII, September, 2022.

https://equanimity.blog/australian-constitutional-monarchy/ -preamble-for-a-new-australian-identity