CANBERRA, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declared himself a proud supporter of the British monarchy ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's visit.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will undertake 36 official engagements during their tour of Australia, including climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge with Morrison.
Morrison's predecessor Malcolm Turnbull led the Australian Republican Movement during the unsuccessful 1999 referendum on the issue but the PM said on Friday that the picture of current monarch Queen Elizabeth II was "back up in the PM's office."
"It was one of the things Malcolm and I disagreed on, but look, I respect how all Australians feel on this," he told Sky News Australia.
"It's not something I go around beating my chest about. It's just I've got a lot of respect for the constitutional monarchy, and if it ain't broke, I don't see the need to fix it, but I respect all Australians' views on that and I'm looking forward to seeing (the royals).
Despite being a staunch republican, Turnbull declared himself an "Elizabethan" ahead of meeting the Queen during a visit to the United Kingdom (UK) in 2017.
"Even republicans like myself can be, and in my case are, very strong Elizabethans as well," he said at the time.
"The Queen has embodied selfless public service, dignity, wisdom, leadership for longer and more magnificently than anyone alive today, there is no doubt."
