Australia and the Monarchy

What is the magic the royals hold over Australians?

Since Captain James Cook first claimed the territory for King George III in 1770, the pulse of the nation can be measured by its level of attachment to an aristocratic bloodline from the other side of the world. Queen Victoria became a towering influence in Australia and was more revered the longer she reigned - even though she never visited the place and showed little interest in it. When her son Prince Alfred visited in 1867, on the first royal tour the country had seen, he was received rapturously, and nearly assassinated.

Nineteen fifty-four saw Australia in the grip of royal fever when newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II landed on these shores for the first time. The growth of the 1990s republican movement existed alongside the people’s adoration for Princess Diana; and now, with the recent rise in popularity for Prince William, Kate, George and Charlotte, the monarchy looks set to enter the hearts and minds of a new generation of Australians.

As one of our most popular writers of Australian history, David Hill guides us with panache through this most peculiar state of affairs.