Gladiator has broken a spear in defense of King Charles. Russell Crowe, born 59 years ago in New Zealand and raised in Australia, has decided to clothe the monarch before his coronation and in response to the rise of republicanism in the antipodes.
"I'm not a monarchist and I don't think we need a king, but I'm sure Charles III will do his job to the best of his ability," Crowe said. "I'll never forget the warmth of our last handshake (in 2003). He's a good guy. The man who's going to be king was not only nice, I also found him funny."
"I see the costumes, the ritual and the pageantry as quite a distant interest," Crowe nevertheless acknowledged. "I don't know what all this is supposed to mean in 2023, nor what it meant in his time"
"But none of us can get any idea of what a life marked by duty and high expectations really is," he added. "Carlos is taking over his family business. It's his destiny. As it is for many, from publishers to plasterers."
Russell thus responded to the controversy caused by the oath of loyalty to the king to which the 25 million inhabitants of Australia will be invited to join, one of the 14 countries of the Commonwealth of Nations that recognize the British monarch as head of state, beyond from United Kingdom.
The posters of Democracy Not Monarchy (Democracy and not Monarchy) compete these days with those of Keep the Crown (Keep the Crown) in the game that is being fought in Australian public opinion. The prime minister, the Labor party Anthony Albanese, has contributed to the controversy with his resistance to officially invite Carlos III to visit the country.
The high commissioner of Australia in the United Kingdom, Stephen Smith, has given arguments to the cause by warning that it is time for his country to be a republic: "It is only a matter of time." "My personal opinion is that it is inevitable," Smith told The Times. "But how that idea progresses will be in the hands of whatever government is in Australia at the time."
Former footballer Craig Foster - an Australian version of Gary Lineker - has revived the controversy these days, warning that his country will mostly turn its back on the coronation, which will take place there in the middle of the night: "It is absurd to proclaim loyalty to someone we do not know, who we don't like and that we don't particularly respect".
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