What do British people think?

“I’m a reluctant republican,” he said.

“With Australia we’re linked by history, sense of humour and cricket that will go on forever, plus the system of government, law and order that we’ve inherited from the UK.

“Unlike other colonial powers, when the British left they bequeathed a good system,” he said.

Muirhead said some countries colonised by other European powers had not been left the legacy of the democratic institutions and legal systems at the heart of the Commonwealth charter.

“Overall it underlines the fact that a lot of work needs to be done to make the case for democracy and the rule of law.

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“The uninvolved and independent [British] monarchy has maintained democracy longer than any other system.”

The Commonwealth is a voluntary association and at its summit in Kigali last month it admitted the African nations of Togo and Gabon to its ranks, despite their poor human rights records.

While Queen Elizabeth headed the group and has championed it throughout her reign, it is not a requirement that the British monarch be its titular figurehead. In 2018, Elizabeth handed over the responsibility to Charles, who led the summit this year.

He faces a considerable challenge keeping it together.

The Commonwealth embodies “an imperfect common set of values,” Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest said. “But at least it’s an imperfect shot at those common set of values which is a lot better than no shot.”

He said the forum was a “congregation of leaders who have time and want to see you all in one place.”

Forrest has never made his position on a republic public but praised Charles as the enemy of climate change.

“Anyone who’s the enemy of my enemy, and my enemy is global warming, is my friend,” he said.

Malawi entered the bloc in 1964 and its Attorney-General Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that its membership was of benefit to the nation.

“The answer is a resounding yes,” he said.

“I know a lot of people from Malawi who have acquired scholarships to study specialised courses and there have been times where we’ve had natural disasters and the Commonwealth has stepped in to help,” he said.

He said in this role, the Commonwealth would be even more relevant in the future.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has appointed Matt Thistlethwaite Australia’s first assistant minister for the republic and charged him with setting a referendum timetable.

But Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, who attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit, stressed that a republic referendum was not an immediate Labor priority. Charles opened the meeting saying becoming a republic was up to individual countries, and that it could and should be done calmly and without rancour.

Chakaka-Nyirenda said Malawi envied those Commonwealth countries that still had ties to the royal family.

“Yes we are a republic but we also admire countries like your country [Australia]. We think there’s more to gain by countries who are linked to the British monarchy,” he said.