The Special Relationship

Australia and the British monarchy have always made for an odd couple: the young, rebellious, egalitarian nation wed to an ancient symbol of power and social inequality. Even today, an invitation to meet a member of the royal family remains a pinnacle of social achievement. What is the magic the royals hold over Australians? Since Captain James Cook first claimed New South Wales for King George III in 1770, the pulse of the nation can be measured by the strength of its attachment to an aristocra