Share your memories of Queen Elizabeth II
For those over 50, you may have a good lifetime’s worth of memories about our Queen, whether you are a monarchist, republican or neither.
And like it or not, after a respectful period (is there such a thing?), we shall have to revisit the issue of just who should be our head of state.
In the meantime, anyone who got within cooee of Her Majesty has been sharing their memories, most of which underline what a decent human being she was.
Do you have any first-hand stories of meeting The Queen or seeing her in action somewhere?
I have one of my own but would prefer to hear yours first!
Also, do you think age has anything to do with it?
The perception might be that older Australians are more likely to favour The Queen personally and as head of state, but polls indicate otherwise.
As a journalist with the Fleet Street press, I covered more than a few Royal tours of Australia and generally what dull affairs they were.
The Queen might have concurred, but she never showed it nor slipped up. The biggest stories usually concerned what someone else did or didn’t do.
The prime example is when in 1992, PM Paul Keating allegedly touched her sacred personage while introducing her to dignitaries.
The man dubbed the ‘Lizard of Oz’ for the supposed breach of protocol was in no mood to discuss it when asked by the Daily Mail soon after the monarch’s death.
The truth of the matter is probably nothing happened, and even if it had, so what?
In terms of if support for a republic is age-related, a poll from last year might suggest it’s not as much as you’d think.
Asked if they thought Australia should become a republic, the ‘yes’ answer came from a consistent 34% in the three age cohorts 25-39,40-54 and 55+.
The lowest level of support came from those aged 18-24, with just 26% ‘yes’.
It’s a debate ahead of us, but in this mourning period, what memories has The Queen’s death triggered for you?
