The British queen's representative in Australia yesterday offered to resign as nominal head of state following rape accusations and separate allegations that he did not act against child-abusing clergy when he was an Anglican Church archbishop in the 1990s.

　　Australian Governor General Peter Hollingworth, who stepped aside earlier this month, denied any wrongdoing, but said the scandals compelled him to quit.

　　"Despite the misplaced and unwarranted allegations made against me as governor general, it is clear that continuing public controversy has the potential to undermine and diminish my capacity to uphold the importance, dignity and integrity of this high office," Hollingworth said in a statement.

　　"It is with deep regret and after much thought that I have today advised the Prime Minister that I wish to resign from the office of Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia," he added.

　　Hollingworth, 68, has been under intense pressure to quit because of unproven accusations that he raped a woman 40 years ago. An Anglican church inquiry also found that while he was archbishop of Brisbane a decade ago, he'd allowed a known pedophile to continue working as a priest. He has admitted "errors in judgment" from the priest scandal.

　　A spokesman for Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he would publicly comment on the matter.

　　In London, no one at Buckingham Palace was available to comment yesterday morning.

　　While the resignation and sex scandals do not reflect on Queen Elizabeth II herself, they could cast as shadow on the future of her reign over Australia, a former British colony. Republicans are expected to use this as ammunition in their campaign to sever Australia's ties with the monarchy.