Young Australians don’t share their parents’ sense of colonial rebellion | Caleb Bond

All the polling done in recent years shows that young people are, in fact, the least republican of all, writes Caleb Bond.

One of the most heartening scenes from the outpouring of grief for Queen Elizabeth II’s death has been the strong contingent of young people laying flowers and signing condolence books.

Children, teenagers and 20-somethings have come out in large numbers across Australia to pay their respects.

Like much of the world’s population, the Queen has always been part of our lives. She has been a constant through wars, droughts, floods and everything else.

She has been a steady figurehead and, particularly in the past decade, won the respect of many young people for her unwavering devotion to her work and her obvious sense of humour.

The revival of the royals has, in large part, been attributed to the more down-to-earth William and Kate and, perhaps in better times, Harry and Meghan.

But the work of the Queen in that revival is often glossed over. She managed to make herself and the institution over which she presided – regarded by some as stuffy and old fashioned – cool.

The Queen and Paddington Bear enjoy a maamalade sandwich during the Platinum Party at the Palace for the 70th Jubilee. Supplied

Her reactions at public events became popular internet memes.

Her fondness for a tipple, for instance, was wholly relatable. Just look at social media this week for umpteen examples.

Her willingness to play up for the camera made her something of the cool granny we all love – jumping out of planes with James Bond, playing We Will Rock You on a teacup with a spoon.

Or when she ran into a couple of US tourists at Balmoral who asked if she had met the Queen. No, but the bloke with her had – and so they posed for photos with him, none the wiser, as Her Majesty took the pictures.

The sadness has not just come from oldies or the stereotypical stiff-upper-lip young monarchists.

It has been ordinary young people who – even if they have no great attachment to the monarchy – feel better for having had the Queen in their lives.

All the polling done in recent years shows that young people are, in fact, the least republican of all.

Queen Elizabeth II famously performs alongside James Bond star Daniel Craig for the London Olympics opening ceremony.

An Ipsos poll in early 2021 found only a third of Australians supported a republic, down from 57 per cent in December 1999.

Only 26 per cent of Australians aged 18-24 supported a republic, according to that poll. A whopping 41 per cent said they had no opinion on the matter.

That so many don’t have strong feelings on the matter is proof of how well our constitutional monarchy works – there is no reason for young people to have a gripe.

They’ve moved past the colonial rebellion of their parents and realised that things really aren’t that bad.

That is, in no small part, thanks to the Queen. She brightened our lives and set the gold standard for service.

The Queen is dead, long live the King.