Prince Charles in Australia amid scrutiny

BRISBANE, Australia — Prince Charles and his wife Camilla landed under a gray sky that threatened rain in Brisbane city on Wednesday on the heir to the British throne’s 16th visit to Australia.

The visit equals his mother Queen Elizabeth II’S tally of 16 royal tours of the former British colony and comes as the 91-year-old monarch winds back her international travel commitments.

Her 69-year-old eldest child arrived in Australia while the country’s relationships with Britain and its monarchy are under renewed scrutiny.

For the first time in the 117 years since Australia became a self-governing country, both the prime minister and the opposition leader agree that the British monarch should be replaced by an Australian citizen as the Australian head of state.

While the queen is an immensely popular among Australians, her heir is less so.

Before entering politics, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull led a public campaign to persuade Australia to severe its constitutional ties with the British monarch and become a republic with an Australian president. That campaign was defeated at a referendum in 1999 in which most Australians voted to maintain the status quo.

Turnbull wrote in a 1994 book “The Reluctantrepublic”thatitwas“difficult to believe that Prince Charles could ever be accepted as king.”

As prime minister, Turnbull now has nothing but praise for the Prince of Wales.

“I’ve met Prince Charles on several occasions over the years and we always get on very well. As far as the republic is concerned, or Australia’s constitutional arrangements, as the prince has always said and indeed the queen has always said, it’s a matter for Australians,” Turnbull said.