Rejoice! Australia’s absentee head of state is stopping over for a few days on his way to the Commonwealth meeting in Samoa. Yet as is often the case with royal visits these days there seems to be little public interest. And, as in the UK, this royal visit will be met by protest from republicans.

The campaign group Republic, of which I’m CEO, has been protesting at royal events since Charles took to the throne two years ago. Every major royal event in the UK is now greeted by our yellow banners and flags and chants of “Not My King!” So when the palace announced Charles’s trip to Australia earlier this year I decided we should probably follow him and continue to make our views heard loud and clear.

I’m not here to campaign for an Australian republic, although I am a dual citizen of both the UK and Australia. There are other groups such as the Australian Republic Movement and Labor for an Australian Republic that can lead the charge here. My protest will be small and symbolic, but my aim is clear: to continue to challenge the narrative of the successful royal tour, the excited locals and grateful population. To say that wherever Charles goes he’s likely to face protest, just as William and Kate did during their ill-fated tour of the Caribbean in 2022.

That said, I do have a message for Australians........

© The Guardian