September 13 2022
PAPUA New Guinea’s Head of State is now King Charles III after the passing of his Mother Queen Elizabeth II last Friday.
September 12, 2022
BY THIERRY LEPANI
PAPUA New Guinea’s Head of State is now King Charles III after the passing of his Mother Queen Elizabeth II last Friday.
King Charles, 73, has had a long-standing relationship with PNG, visiting the country on numerous occasions including officiating Independence Day as a young Prince on behalf of his mother.
The King was also present to officially open the Parliament House in 1984.
His last visit was nearly 10 years ago in 2012 when he visited PNG during his tour to Australia and New Zealand, and when he famously spoke pidgin in front of thousands at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby.
Dressed in his PNG Defence Force regalia, Prince Charles wooed the crowd when he introduced himself as “namba wan pikinini bilong missis Kwin.”
Since Independence, like many other Commonwealth countries, PNG has only known the Queen as its head of state and monarch.
Queen Elizabeth is captured in the constitution as the head of state however that will now have to be amended to pledge allegiance to King Charles.
The Royal Family have maintained their relations with PNG over time, and although their influence has dwindled, family members still maintain their visits with the most recent by Princess Royal, Princess Anne early this year. King Charles was officially sworn in and proclaimed King on Saturday evening by the Accession Council, in a ceremony attended by the high-level officials and was also attended by PNG’s Acting High Commissioner to the UK, Joseph Varo.
While the King’s accession to the throne is largely a ceremonial affair, the death of the Queen has prompted debates on the relevancy of the Royal Family, and reignited Republican movements in Commonwealth countries.
Although most Commonwealth countries have some staunch Republican groups that aim to change their constitutional monarchy to remove the head of the Royal Family as their monarch, in PNG the discussion is still largely non-existent on a political level.
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Prime Minister James Marape said it is with utmost sadness that our country woke up to the news that we have lost our beloved Queen, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary II – Queen of England and the Commonwealth of Nations.
A MASSIVE earthquake has sent shockwave across PNG with damages to lives, properties and key infrastructure.
THE Governor-General of PNG Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae conveyed condolences on behalf of the nation to the Royal family on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
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