The sausage flipped by King Charles at a Sydney barbecue probably had less of a grilling than the man himself on his recent Australian tour.
It’s been a tricky trip for the ailing monarch suffering with cancer caught in a colonial maelstrom — his first visit as head of state to a nation split over remaining a sovereign state or becoming a republic.
Accusations of aboriginal genocide and land theft rumbled throughout the six-day visit to a country colonized by the British in 1788.
Indigenous Australian MP Lidia Thorpe’s outburst after the king’s speech at Parliament House in Canberra grabbed the headlines.
“F–k the colony,” she thundered at the weary 75-year-old, who had just paid tribute to the “timeless wisdom of the traditional owners of land.”
Thorpe’s heavy-handed protest diluted her message and demeaned her office. Add in the snubbing from several senior Australian politicians, and the king, who had schlepped across the globe with two full-time doctors and a supply of his own blood, deserved better.
You had to feel some sympathy for Charles. A life spent in waiting for a role increasingly mired in controversy and critique and now expected to be an apologist for centuries-old oppression he played no part in.
He could be forgiven for kicking back with a martini in his beloved rose garden at Highgrove, but duty calls. As the late Queen Elizabeth II famously said: “I have to be seen to be believed” — in short — get out there and meet the people.
It’s a reminder that for all the mystique of monarchy, its raison d’être is rooted in engaging with its subjects. Trouble is the parade now comes with protest, fans often drowned out by its foes.
This storm has been brewing for a while.
The prince and princess of Wales’ ill-fated 2022 tour of the Caribbean was equally problematic. Aimed at strengthening the Commonwealth, the event was overshadowed by calls for slavery reparation against the backdrop of the global Black Lives Matter movement.
Not to mention the couple’s poorly-advised photo opportunity: shaking the hands of Jamaican children through a wire fence.
The greatest challenge facing “the firm” today is staying true to itself. Its stock in trade is tradition, ceremony and continuity, but it needs to avoid the quaint, old-fashioned clangers that give fuel to the haters. Miss the mark and the royals are now on shaky ground almost wherever they land.
Deference has chipped away with the queen’s death, her affection and respect unmatched by the next generations amid greater questioning and accountability.
Of course, the institution shouldn’t be immune from scrutiny and retrospection. In fact, a reality check has been long overdue.
Total subservience and indulgence is no good for anyone.
Look what it did to Prince Andrew with all his boorish indignation following the Jeffrey Epstein scandal — he still doesn’t get what the fuss is about.
Then there’s the Harry and Meghan soap opera, a classic example of the skewed perspective as celebrity crashes into royalty.
The negative effects of colonial rule shouldn’t be airbrushed; far from it, the history lesson should live on, but constant flagellation of current figureheads is pointless.
It feeds into this militant hysteria that wants to consign a 1,000-year institution to an ever-expanding blacklist of the canceled. In the eyes of its critics any tradition and heritage is fair game for attack.
What about the unifying and positive role the monarchy can and does play in public life? Surely a little permanence and cultural heritage isn’t so bad in a world otherwise changing at breakneck speed, AI looming in the shadows.
Meanwhile, Kate Middleton’s stoic cancer battle has been an inspiration to many fellow sufferers — her father-in-law included — reminding us of the Windsors’ relatable side amid the pomp.
The crown may be a little tarnished but it still shines.
Some 10,000 people turned out to see the king and queen backdropped by the iconic Sydney Opera House on their final day Down Under.
From flag-waving schoolkids to a crown-clad dachshund, the crowd beamed back at an elderly man no doubt relieved to have a little more appreciation.
Notably, all were focused in the moment rather than the distant past, recognizing it was precious and poignant for a number of reasons.
“I’m really excited,” said a year six student from Rose Hill public school. “We may not even see him again.”
Sadly, she’s probably right.
