BRISBANE, Australia -- Prince Charles and his wife Camilla landed under a grey 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 Reluctant Republic" that it was "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 told Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Tuesday.
"He is very, very knowledgeable and has had enormous experience over his long career as the Prince of Wales. He's a very thoughtful and considered and charming person to meet. I look forward to seeing him again," Turnbull added.
Charles is in Australia to represent his mother at the opening of the Commonwealth Games in neighbouring Gold Coast city late Wednesday.
Some members of the 53-nation Commonwealth don't want him to lead their organization when he takes the throne. Charles will be the constitutional head of only 15 of the Commonwealth countries, including Australia, and some of them say they should pick their own replacement for the queen.
Charles was greeted in Brisbane by Governor-General Peter Cosgrove, a former Australian army general who represents the monarch in Australia, and was welcomed with a 21-gun salute.
Charles and Camilla wandered among hundreds of well-wishers who had risked rain to see them before visiting a Brisbane children's hospital.
Charles will visit northern Queensland state, the neighbouring Northern Territory and Vanuatu before returning to Britain next week.
Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will head home on Friday.
Charles has declined a cheeky invitation to explain why he, and not an Australian, should become the nation's next head of state in a speech during his Australian visit.
"It appears the prince is unable to answer this question," the Australian Republic Movement, which extended the invitation, said in a statement last month.
Elsewhere around the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday:
ROOKIE CAMBAGE: Liz Cambage begins her tuneup for the WNBA season with the Dallas Wings when she leads the Australian team in the Commonwealth Games basketball competition. The 2.03-meter (6-foot-8) centre is a two-time Olympian for Australia but is playing the Commonwealth Games for the first time. She's one of the most experienced players on the team, but doesn't think of herself as a veteran. "I'd still like to think of myself as one of the young ones," she said. "I'm not a veteran yet. I'm still 26, I'm still a baby, I'm trying to hold on to that."
Australia coach Sandy Brondello, who won three Olympic medals as a player with the Australian women's team, the Opals, had some simple advice for Cambage: "Just go in there and be Liz Cambage. Play your game, be your dominant self and everything will go well."
Australia opens against Mozambique on Friday in Townsville, north Queensland, about 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) north of the Gold Coast. All preliminary matches in the men's and women's competitions are being played in Townsville and Cairns, also in north Queensland. The finals will be held on the final weekend -- Aug. 13 to 15 -- on the Gold Coast.
ABORIGINAL PROTEST: A small group of indigenous protesters blocked a Gold Coast road, bringing a temporary halt to the Queen's Baton Relay on its final day. The group of approximately 30 people lined up in nearby Southport, leaving the relay staff and baton runners stranded in a parking lot. After approximately an hour, organizers resumed the final leg of the relay. The baton is due at the stadium for the opening ceremony Wednesday night.
The protesters, calling themselves the "Stolenwealth Games," are using the Gold Coast games to highlight their "anti-colonial activity and authority views." Queensland police acknowledged the group's right to protest, saying: "Should any activities occur during a protest which pose a risk to the safety or enjoyment of the Commonwealth Games, the (police) will respond accordingly."
OOPS: Games organizers have blundered by listing England as part of Africa in the official souvenir program.
The colorful Commonwealth Games 2018 edition lists the English capital as Banjul (instead of London), locates it in the Africa region and notes its population as slightly more than 2 million. That mirrors the details listed -- correctly -- for Gambia, only recently restored to the Commonwealth Games, directly underneath on Page 97. Gold Coast 2018 chief executive Mark Peters explained the blunder as an "overprint" as organizers rushed to accommodate Gambia's re-inclusion into the Commonwealth just weeks ago. The African nation did not compete at the 2014 Glasgow Games after withdrawing from the Commonwealth in 2013. A change of prime minister in 2016 led to the readmission of Gambia last month, and the country has six athletes competing on the Gold Coast.
GOING FOR GOLD: The first gold medallist of the games will likely be the winner of the women's triathlon on Thursday, and the overwhelming favourite is two-time world champion Flora Duffy of Bermuda. Duffy won six out of seven races in last year's World Triathlon Series. England's Alistair Brownlee, who has won gold in the past two Olympic triathlons, is entered in the men's race. The individual men's and women's races and a mixed team event on Saturday will be over the sprint distance -- a swim leg of 750 metres, a 20-kilometre cycle and a 5-kilometre run, half of the Olympic version. Brownlee is coming off hip surgery last August and one of his biggest threats for gold will come from his brother Jonathan, who won silver behind Alistair at Glasgow in 2014, and bronze medallist Richard Murray of South Africa. Gold medals on day one of competition will also be presented in artistic gymnastics, track cycling, swimming and weightlifting.
EASY BRONZE: Australian boxer Taylah Robertson ensured the first medal of the Commonwealth Games without setting foot in the ring. The 19-year-old Robertson was the beneficiary of a lucky draw in the women's 51-kilogram division and is guaranteed at least a bronze medal. Only seven boxers entered the competition, so three bouts will be contested as quarterfinals, with Robertson receiving a direct passage to the last four. Both losers of the semifinals win bronze medals. The boxing program starts Thursday.
OFFICIAL INVESTIGATED: Queensland state police are investigating an alleged assault involving an official and an athlete of the Mauritius team. Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the allegation involved "an assault of an aggravated matter." Gollschewski said police had been aware of an allegation before a complaint was made overnight. He declined to give further details. Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive David Grevemberg said if the allegation is proved, it "compromises the integrity of everything we uphold in terms of a harm-free environment."
NEW SKIPPER: Jesse Parahi is new captain of the Australian rugby sevens team, and there have been a few before him this year. Long-time skipper Ed Jenkins retired at the start of the season, and his replacement, Lewis Holland, was injured in the team's last World Series tournament before the games. The man who replaced Holland, James Stannard, sustained a fractured skull in a one-punch attack last week and will miss the Commonwealth Games. Coach Andy Friend says the nature of the sport means the players are equipped to deal with what's transpired. "They're a very resilient group," he said. "You get a lot thrown at you ... you learn to deal with things on the run."
