Sydney: Prince William will meet Prime Minister Kevin Rudd when Queen Elizabeth II's grandson visits Sydney this week, the Australian leader and avowed republican said Monday.
The 27-year-old, who is second in line to the throne, arrives in Sydney from New Zealand on Tuesday for a three-day tour -- his first since he came to Australia as an infant with his parents in 1983.
"The prince and I are visiting a youth homeless centre together later this week," Rudd told reporters.
"I look forward to having a conversation with him."
During his tour, Prince William is set to visit a deprived Aboriginal neighbourhood in inner Sydney and bushfire-ravaged zones outside Melbourne.
The young prince is expected to be warmly received in Australia, a former penal colony which remains a constitutional monarchy with the British sovereign as its head of state.
The centre-left Rudd has said he supports a republic but that scrapping the monarchy is not a top priority for his government.
Ahead of meeting Queen Elizabeth last year, Rudd told the BBC that "Her Majesty is well loved in Australia and Australia will become a republic and we'll have a referendum in due season".
In 1999, voters rejected a referendum promoting a model for an Australian republic.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, January 18, 2010, 15:44