FACT: Australia's next head of state

Alright then, something short and uncontroversial (in the sense of factual) today from The Australian:

CAMILLA Parker Bowles will automatically become queen of Britain, Australia and more than a dozen other countries when her future husband, Prince Charles, accedes to the throne, the British Government has admitted. It would require special legislation in Canberra for her to be downgraded to princess consort - the title the palace has repeatedly claimed she "intended" to adopt when her husband becomes king.

Such a move would be unlikely with leading Australian republicans more than happy for Mrs Parker Bowles to be queen. "Republicans would not only be churlish but mad to try to stop her becoming Queen Camilla," said professor George Winterton of the University of Sydney. The head of the Australian Republican Movement, professor John Warhurst, said Australia would get Queen Camilla whether we liked it or not.

There is no need for Australian governments to validate her ascension as queen because "Australia takes the monarchy as we find it", according to professor George Williams of the Gilbert & Tobin Centre of Public Law at the University of NSW.

Knowing that public opinion in Britain, Australia and many other countries was hostile to the idea of the prince's second wife becoming queen, his aides have adamantly insisted it was only convention, rather than law, that has seen the wives of past kings become queen. But Christopher Leslie, the Blair Government's Minister of Constitutional Affairs, admitted yesterday in response to a question from a republican Labour MP in the House of Commons that the prince's claims were wrong and that there were no legal grounds for her becoming princess consort rather than queen.

As Allison Henry of the Australian Republican Movement comments:

As the couple weave their way through constitutional complexities in Britain, Australians are realising that decisions about our future head of state are not in our hands, the citizens of a modern, democratic and diverse nation. Rather, these decisions are being implemented on the other side of the world, in accordance with arcane and discriminatory laws, with no input from Australian citizens or even our elected representatives. Put simply, the prospect of King Charles and Queen Camilla being foisted on us without consultation reminds us of the constitutional fact that Australians have no say whatsoever in who is our head of state.

In this respect it might be interesting to again state the result of the referendum about Australia establishing itself as a republic instead of remaining a constitutional British monarchy in 1999:

54.87% against, 45.13% in favour.