When Lady Diana married Prince Charles, his father brought up champagne. But after the death of the Queen, Australian actor Hugh Jackman sees his country on the way to becoming a republic. The cut-off from the Commonwealth happens without resentment, but inevitably, says the X-Men star.
“Wolverine” star Hugh Jackman explains his attitude towards the political status of his native Australia in a BBC interview. Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg talk show, Jackman says secession from the British monarchy to a republic is “inevitable”. He himself has “no grudges” towards King Charles III, but a departure from the Commonwealth is “a natural development of a country”. The actor is a child of British emigrants, was born in Sydney and grew up there, but has both Australian and British citizenship.
The 54-year-old says that he came from a family where the British royal family was celebrated. For example, his father would have gathered the whole family in front of the television and even served champagne at the 1981 wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. To this day he knows the performance of the late Queen Elizabeth II and her successor King Charles III. much appreciated: “I admire them and I wish them all the best.”
There is currently a lively public debate in Australia about the future role of the country. It is currently a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, a loose association of sovereign states made up mostly of former colonies of Great Britain. The official head of state in Australia is the British monarch, who is represented locally by a governor-general. Amplified by the death of the Queen, this status is currently being put to the test in Australia and many other Commonwealth countries.
The last time there was a democratic vote on this status “Down Under” was in 1999: At that time, 55 percent of voters decided to remain in the monarchical structures. A recent decision caused a stir: King Charles III. will not be featured on the five dollar bill there like his mother Queen Elizabeth II. Observers see this step as a further indication of the country’s unstoppable process of cutting cords.
