The King and Queen are facing a snub from senior politicians in Australia when they begin a tour of the country later this week, according to reports.
The visit will be the King’s most significant overseas tour since his cancer diagnosis and his first to Australia as the nation’s head of state.
A reception for the royal couple in Canberra on 21 October has invited all the nation’s state premiers – but none are reported to have accepted, blaming other commitments.
The King is due to address community and political leaders at the event, according to Buckingham Palace.
Victoria’s state premier Jacinta Allan was the latest leader to confirm she will not be attending, while South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas blamed a regional cabinet meeting for his expected absence.
Other premiers blamed workload from preventing them attending the reception, while Queensland’s Steven Miles said he will be concentrating on his election campaign.
Sections of the Australian media have criticised the snub by the politicians, calling it an “insult”, “disrespectful” and “childish”.
Royal correspondent
This trip has been in the planning for months and months, so, too, all the engagements.
It’s hard to see how a diary clash could prevent the state premiers’ attendance.
The King has already condensed this tour to allow for his health.
But a visit to the land-locked capital, Canberra, was never not going to feature.
He is Australia’s head of state, and will address a reception at Parliament House, the political heart of the country.
Buckingham Palace said the event will be attended by “political and community leaders”.
But not, it seems, all of them. Not one of the eight political leaders of Australia’s states and territories is going, and none will be there to hear the King of Australia’s address.
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper is describing this as a “childish no-show”.
With just two and a half days of engagements planned in Australia, this is a whirlwind visit.
It leaves little time for discussion or debate about the future of the monarchy.
Research shows support for republicanism in Australia isn’t growing.
Maybe this is an attempt to restart the conversation.
It comes as a poll in the Daily Telegraph in Sydney revealed one in four of those surveyed had a more favourable view of the monarch than before he was crowned.
Some 33% would like to see Australia become a republic, but 45% said the nation should remain a monarchy, the results suggested.
The King will pause his cancer treatment when he and his wife begin the Australian tour on Friday.
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Royal doctors have already given the 75-year-old permission to briefly halt his weekly treatment cycle in order to fly to Australia before a state visit to Samoa in the South Pacific.
The King and Queen will be away for 11 days, with the tour covering nine days with two days of travel either side.
The entourage will include the King’s doctor, while the programme of engagements has been designed to provide extra time for rest and recovery.
