Matt Johnston: Could Oprah have brought Aussie republic one step closer?

Most younger Aussies view the monarchy like characters in TV show The Crown, so surely a push for an Australian republic would be an easy sell.

Oprah interviews Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Picture: Screengrab

As I sat through Oprah interviewing Meghan and Harry I felt like I was watching a spin-off from the popular TV series The Crown.

The Harry and Meghan show dipped into serious subjects – mental health, racism and the monarchy to name a few – but there was a surreal element too.

Perhaps it was the setting, which looked like an Italian villa on Californian acreage.

Or the fact this carefully scripted “interview” tiptoed around some of the more confronting issues once raised.

Watching the show with an Australian, an Irishman and two Sri Lankans, there were some mixed views about the trustworthiness of witnesses and, unsurprisingly, about the royals.

As people in their mid-30s – okay, some of us are pushing 40 – there was a fascination with the characters in this soap opera rather than what the monarchy stands for or does.

Is this a generational thing?

My mother is English and feels a connection to the royal family.

People of her age were as concerned by the historical inaccuracies in The Crown as they were by the subject matter. They lived alongside Queen Elizabeth II and the gang.

The reaction to the Oprah fanfare from different age groups inevitably raises the prospect of a republic in Australia.

If people of younger generations view the monarchy through the prism of a TV franchise surely a switch would be easy pickings for republicans?

Some younger Australians feel a greater affinity with Meghan Markle than to most royals. Picture: AFP

The Harry and Meghan show dipped into serious subjects but there was a surreal element too.

If people of younger generations view the monarchy through the prism of a TV franchise rather than by its actions and responsibilities to this nation, surely a switch would be easy pickings for republicans?

Especially if some younger Australians feel a greater affinity with Markle than to most royals.

But the general apathy towards the monarchy doesn’t mean everyone would necessarily embrace an alternative.

Politicians, including Malcolm Turnbull who spearheaded a republic campaign in the 1990s, know timing is everything.

When Charles rises to the throne, things will change.

Harry’s dad, already dragged through the mud in The Crown, was castigated again during the Oprah interview.

Even with the popular William and Kate sitting the wings, younger generations won’t embrace Charles, and many may start to wonder whether there’s a point to the whole show.

One of the republicans’ strongest allies could by then be someone who also happens to speak to those generations.

Harry, the flawed young man who recently charmed his way around this country on behalf of the “firm”.

What a plot twist.