This weekend Australians will observe a national holiday to mark the King’s Birthday, a date that isn’t even celebrated in Britain. Historically, Australian identity has been closely tethered to the English empire, and these links are being shed slowly and reluctantly.

Until 1967, Australian passports still had the word British on them, the national anthem was God Save the Queen, and school children pledged allegiance to the Queen. Britishness was uniquely Australian creation that had more meaning here than in the United Kingdom. So why have Australians been so reluctant to jettison the monarch?