Monarchists say ACT Government 'misjudged the mood' in lacklustre coronation celebrations

The spine-tingling chorus of ‘Zadok the Priest’ and ground-shaking cries of ‘God save the King’ heralded a new era over the weekend.

Not everyone may have recited the ‘homage to the people’ and sworn to “pay true allegiance to Your Majesty and to your heirs and successors according to law, so help me God”, but Australia still celebrated a new head of state during the coronation ceremony for King Charles III, or to use the official title, His Majesty The King, Charles the Third, by the Grace of God King of Australia and his other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.

In Canberra, everything from light rail stops to Government House, Questacon to the National Carillon lit up royal purple. A 21-gun salute was fired outside Parliament House on Sunday afternoon as RAAF planes soared overhead.

The pomp and procedure won’t be quickly forgotten, but Deputy Chairman of the ACT and District Branch of the Australian Monarchist League Scott Coleman reckons there was one notable absence.

“In this case, I think the ACT Government has really misjudged the mood of the people,” he says.

Apart from assisting the National Capital Authority (NCA) with the purple illuminations (and posting about it on social media), the local government has been near silent on the coronation.

On the Chief Minister’s official Twitter page, the first post since 2 May told of a new statue to celebrate Susan Ryan, former federal politician under Bob Hawke’s government. And the pages of the other local politicians and directorates follow a similar pattern, with many doing more to mark May 4 as ‘Star Wars Day’ than the coronation on 6 May.

Scott says it ultimately comes down to political leanings, with “those who are more conservative” tending to support the monarchy.

“I think this is a deliberate move by the government to downplay the significance of an event which is pivotal at the start of the reign of every sovereign.”

The Australian republicans have become more prominent at various times since Federation, but Scott doesn’t expect this start of a new chapter (or beginning of the ‘New Carolean’ era) will rekindle much desire to leave the Commonwealth.

“The late Queen … had an incredible bond with her people, but that developed over time. Charles has had such a long time to prepare for his role. I think he will do a splendid job. And whenever he comes to this country – his Australian realm – the public enthusiasm will be immense.”

Like it or lump it, it seems we Australians also can’t get enough of tradition.

“You only have to turn up at a Dawn Service on Anzac Day to see the public enthusiasm for tradition,” Scott says.

He believes that if we held another referendum for independence tomorrow, “it would fail”.

“I don’t think it’s high on the priority list for Australians,” he says.

“Costs of living, inadequate health care, rising interest rates – these are the things the government can be attending to, rather than spending billions on replacing a system that doesn’t really need replacing.

“Monarchy has stood the test of time. We take the stability it brings for granted. We see instability in other countries, many of which are republics, because they don’t have the benefits of this system … It’s important to have a non-partisan figure as the head of our country.”

This weekend, there will be events in Canberra to mark the Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort, including a National 21 Gun Salute and Fly Past, and illuminations across buildings and monuments. Details can be found at: https://t.co/8MHU7IUBU1 pic.twitter.com/1EQukPRnjV

— ACT Government (@actgovernment) May 5, 2023

The ACT Chief Minister Treasury and Economic Development Directorate (CMTEDD) affirms they arranged for the light rail stops, Canberra Times Fountain in Civic, and the Malcom Fraser Bridge to be illuminated in royal purple over the weekend as “ACT Government owned assets”.

“The ACT Government Facebook and Twitter accounts each ran two posts in the lead up to the weekend about the coronation and what events were happening in Canberra,” the spokesperson says.

Scott Coleman bears no relation to the author of this article.