King’s US visit hit differently for Australia

The King’s US visit was hailed a huge success. But for Australia, the message was different, writes Dennis Altman.

Our media has been full of praise for the King and his handling of US President Donald Trump on the recent state visit. His mention of AUKUS has been hailed as a great moment for Australia.

But on the contrary, the King’s visit merely underlined our strange constitutional arrangements, essentially a Clayton’s monarchy [or, as the advertisements said, “the drink you have when you’re not having a drink”].

Queen Victoria could not have said it better. Addressing the US Congress, the King referred to Australia as “a country of which I am also immensely proud to serve as sovereign”.

None of the other 14 countries that, along with Britain, retain the King as head of state were mentioned – not, I suspect a matter of great concern for the citizens of Canada, Papua New Guinea or Jamaica.

The King was in Washington as an emissary of the British government, and his trip was reported with bated breath as an attempt to restore the “special relationship” between the two countries.

What it underlined for me was that we are a country without an effective head of state, although........

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