Australia PM says he did not raise republic question in meeti

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday he did not raise the issue of Australia severing ties with Britain to become a republic in a meeting with King Charles in Scotland.
King Charles is head of state in Australia, New Zealand and 12 other Commonwealth realms outside the United Kingdom, although the role is largely ceremonial.
Australia has long debated the need to keep a distant monarch. A 1999 referendum in Australia on becoming a republic lost with 55% of voters opposed.
Albanese, a lifelong republican who nonetheless has pledged his allegiance to King Charles, said in televised remarks on Sunday that he met one-on-one with the monarch at Balmoral Castle, his home in the Scottish Highlands.