Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday officially announced the name of Queen Elizabeth II for a small island in Canberra. It took place on the eve of its platinum anniversary.
Elizabeth will be on the throne for 70 years this year. Aspen Island in the Australian capital is now officially known as Queen Elizabeth II Island.
The man-made island opened in 1963 and was later renamed Aspen Island after the Aspen Tree.
The name change is “a symbol of the relationship between England and Australia. Today we celebrate his long life and 70 years of service to Australia and the Commonwealth, with no less than 16 visits to our country,” he said at the Albanian ceremony.
The Prime Minister stressed the relationship between the two countries
Earlier this week, the Prime Minister stressed that Australia’s relationship with the monarchy has matured. The report sparked a debate over whether Australia should become a republic.
That debate took on a new dimension when the Albanian on Tuesday appointed the first “assistant minister for the republic” within his ministry. The debate over whether the nation should become a republic has been raging in Australia for decades.
