Australia's 'King Mike' unfazed by royal fuss

Affair 600 years ago makes down-to-earth farm worker the rightful heir to British throne, expert says He's a bloke from the bush who enjoys a beer with his mates and voted for Australia to become a republic. He drives tractors and forklift trucks for a living, owns a modest, single-storey weatherboard house and loves his quiet life in the little town of Jerilderie, in New South Wales. Michael Abney-Hastings, 62 - known to his friends as Mike - is the quintessential Australian and would have it no other way. But he was astounded when told by a British historian that his true destiny could lie half a world away, amid castles and corgis and unimaginable wealth. According to a leading historian in Britain, Michael Jones, Mr Abney-Hastings is the rightful king of England, Queen Elizabeth is an impostor, the line of succession is based on a lie, and the Windsors have no right to live in Buckingham Palace, Sandringham or Balmoral. 'I was surprised all right, but I've no intention of chasing over there and laying claim to palaces and crown jewels. I'm quite happy in Jerilderie,' said the would-be monarch, relaxing with a beer after a hard day's work spraying herbicide from a tractor. 'Having said that, the more I look at the evidence, the more I'm convinced that they're right and I probably should be the king of England.' Dr Jones has uncovered what appears to be firm evidence that Edward IV, who ruled England in the 15th century, was in fact illegitimate. Instead of Edward being made king, the crown should have passed to his brother, the Duke of Clarence, and then down through a series of obscure noblemen and women to Mr Abney-Hastings. Born in England, Mr Abney-Hastings was educated in Yorkshire before moving to Australia as a teenager and finding work as a jackeroo - Australia's answer to the cowboy. The father of five, whose wife died last year, works on a 2,400 hectare rice farm outside Jerilderie, 640km southwest of Sydney. He earns about A$50,000 (HK$298,000) a year. Although he is officially the 14th Earl of Loudon, in Ayrshire, Scotland, he never uses the title and says the family fortune was lost centuries ago. The key piece of evidence was unearthed by Dr Jones in a library in Rouen Cathedral in France. The document apparently shows that at the time of Edward IV's conception, his supposed parents, Richard Duke of York and Lady Cicely Neville, were more than 160km apart. Richard was fighting the French near Paris and Lady Neville was at court in Rouen. Dr Jones believes Edward, who reigned from 1461 to 1483, was the product of an adulterous liaison between Neville and a lowly French archer. Dr Jones' finding was part of a documentary, England's Real Monarch, made by Britain's Channel 4 television network. The documentary has earned 'King Michael' a degree of celebrity in Jerilderie, where ironically he is the president of the local historical society. When he went to a friend's house for Christmas dinner 'they all stood up and sang God Save the King as I walked in', he said. Locals at the Royal Mail Hotel in Jerilderie, which was once held up by the notorious 19th century bushranger Ned Kelly, said they were shocked to learn Mr Abney-Hastings could be the rightful heir to the British crown. 'I've seen the documentary and it all seems to be fair dinkum,' said publican John Flatley, 30. 'Mike is a typical Aussie bloke. He often pops in for a beer after work. I didn't even know he had a title.' Mr Abney-Hastings has not changed his opinion that Australia should declare itself a republic. 'I firmly believe Australia should not be sitting on [the] coattails of any other country - we're big enough and old enough to stand on our own two feet,' he said. The response from Buckingham Palace has so far been predictably muted. A spokesman declined to respond to the illegitimacy claims, saying any conclusions reached in the documentary were 'a matter for the programme makers'. In any case, the Queen can sleep easy. 'King Michael' is more than happy to leave the pressures of royalty to the troubled Windsors. While the Queen and Prince Charles face another potential annus horribilis, with the recently announced British inquests into the deaths of Princess Diana and her lover Dodi Fayed, Mr Abney-Hastings will be relaxing on his verandah, admiring the sunset, and cracking open a cold beer or two.