CANBERRA, Australia — Prince Charles has declined a cheeky invitation to explain why he, and not an Australian, should become the nation’s next head of state, an advocate for constitutional change said on Wednesday. “It appears the prince is unable to answer this question,” the Australian Republic Movement said in a statement. Australians had a chance to replace the British monarch with an Australian president as their head of state in a referendum in 1999. The Australian Republic Movement said it wrote to Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son in December inviting him to give a speech during his five-day Australian visit next month. The movement’s national director Michael Cooney said the Prince of Wales’ Assistant Private Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Bernadette Smith recently wrote to decline their invitation.

Source: National Post March 20, 2018 23:41 UTC