Prince Charles in Australia

Prince Charles arrived in Adelaide Tuesday for World War II commemoration. The heir to the throne is the first member of the Royal Family to visit Australia after republican Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister. The Prince visit came at a time when revived debate over whether Canberra is ready to ditch its monarchy ties. Turnbull ousted royalist Tony Abbott in a party coup last September. He also headed the Australian Republican Movement, ceaselessly campaigning, albeit unsuccessfully, to break the Australian tie with the British Crown during a 1999 referendum. The six-day royal also hopes to weaken the call to eliminate knights and dames from Australia's national honours system. Turnbull called it "not appropriate" in the modern age.

At the meeting with Prince Charles in the capital, the republican, however, had no choice but to begrudgingly admit that the Prince of Wales will one day become King of Australia – unless constitutional change happens. In his book, The Reluctant Republican, Turnbull heavily criticized the prince and his marriage to Diana, the late Princess of Wales, calling it “a miserable pretence”.  He also expressed his disappointment over Charles giving the longest speech on Australia Day in 1988, the country’s bicentennial. The meeting with Turnbull followed after the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall honored Australia's war dead by laying wreaths during the national Remembrance Day ceremony at the Australian War Memorial.