# Republican leaders of Australia and NZ to pledge allegiance to king Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2023-05-05 Category: NEWS Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news Meta Title: Australian and NZ leaders pledge allegiance to King Charles Meta Description: Read about Australian and New Zealand leaders pledging allegiance to King Charles at his coronation, despite being life-long republicans. URL: https://financedigest.com/republican-leaders-of-australia-and-nz-to-pledge-allegiance-to-kinghtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/2023-05-05t052014z2lynxmpej4403drtroptp4britain-royals-coronation-australia-1736814065228-compressed.jpg) By Alasdair Pal and Lucy Craymer SYDNEY/WELLINGTON (Reuters) – The leaders of Australia and New Zealand will pledge their allegiance to King Charles at his coronation in London on Saturday even though both are life-long republicans who do not shy away from making their positions clear. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his New Zealand counterpart, Chris Hipkins, have travelled to London where they are due to meet Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday. They met the king earlier in the week. [King Charles](https://www.financedigest.com/king-charles-greets-wellwishers-outside-palace-before-coronation.html "King Charles greets wellwishers outside palace before coronation") is head of state in Australia, New Zealand and 12 other Commonwealth realms outside the United Kingdom, although the role is largely ceremonial. The two countries are holding events to [celebrate the coronation](https://www.financedigest.com/a-great-treat-king-charles-heralds-weekend-of-coronation-celebrations.html "“A great treat”: King Charles heralds weekend of coronation celebrations"), from tree-planting to military fly-pasts, though there is expected to be less pageantry than after the death of Queen Elizabeth last year. The [death of the queen](https://www.financedigest.com/queen-elizabeth-died-of-old-age-death-certificate-shows.html "Queen Elizabeth died of ‘old age’, death certificate shows") reignited debate in Australia about the need to retain a distant constitutional monarchy. Australia held a referendum in 1999 on [becoming a republic](https://www.financedigest.com/fiat-republic-the-specialist-baas-platform-that-bridges-the-gap-between-web3-and-traditional-banks-announces-it-has-become-an-electronic-money-institution-emi-in-the-uk.html "Fiat Republic, the specialist BaaS platform that bridges the gap between web3 and traditional banks, announces it has become an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) in the UK.") with 55% of voters opposed. [Polls in recent years](https://www.financedigest.com/global-stocks-to-grind-higher-lacklustre-year-ahead-reuters-poll.html "Global stocks to grind higher, lacklustre year ahead: Reuters poll") have shown varying support for a republic, with most showing a small majority of Australians in favour. But neither Albanese nor Hipkins are actively campaigning for the British monarch to be replaced as [head of state despite](https://www.financedigest.com/germany-heading-for-recession-despite-new-relief-plan-economists.html "Germany heading for recession despite new relief plan – economists") their republican convictions. I haven’t [changed my position](https://www.financedigest.com/the-meta-trends-driving-positive-change-for-financial-services.html "The meta trends driving positive change for Financial Services") on that and I’ve made that very clear. I want to see an [Australian](https://www.financedigest.com/australian-state-balks-at-energy-companys-request-for-help-with-lng-import-terminal.html "Australian state balks at energy company’s request for help with LNG import terminal") as Australia’s head of state,” Albanese said in an interview with state broadcaster ABC on Friday. That doesn’t [mean that you can not have respect for the institution](https://www.financedigest.com/what-hyper-converged-infrastructure-really-means-for-your-financial-institution-part-2.html "What hyper converged infrastructure really means for your financial institution (Part 2)"), which is the system of government that we have. Albanese said would take the oath of allegiance to [King Charles](https://www.financedigest.com/new-coins-banknotes-stamps-and-cypher-for-britains-king-charles.html "New coins, banknotes, stamps and cypher for Britain’s King Charles") at the ceremony. People expect me to not come to the [king’s coronation](https://www.financedigest.com/canadian-pm-justin-trudeau-to-attend-king-charles-coronation-in-london.html "Canadian PM Justin Trudeau to attend King Charles’ coronation in London") in order to create a controversy,” he said. Hipkins told a news conference on Monday he was on “record as being a Republican” but that “it’s not something I intend to push”. “I don’t regard it as a priority,” he said. “The constitutional arrangements that we have are working quite soundly at the moment.” New Zealand’s defence force will fire off two 21-gun salutes on Sunday, while the Australian air force is planning a fly-past over Parliament House in Canberra. Various prominent [buildings including Auckland’s Harbour Bridge and Skytower and parliament buildings in both capitals will be lit up – but not Sydney’s famous Harbour Bridge and Opera House](https://www.financedigest.com/meet-the-women-working-hard-in-house-building.html "Meet The Women Working Hard In House Building"). (Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney and Lucy Craymer in Wellington; Editing by Robert Birsel) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---