ABSTRACT
In 1992 Australia's Prime Minister Paul Keating caused an uproar in the British press by touching the British Queen irreverently during her official visit to Australia. Emotions were high because of Keating's image as someone who shortly before had demanded the establishment of an Australian republic, and an end to flying the Union Jack and participating in the British system of honours. Keating's gesture (in which he offended against protocol by putting his arm around the Queen), seemed a symbolic Proclamation of the Republic in the way Napoleon became Emperor by snatching the imperial crown from the hands of the Pope. Why such susceptibility concerning symbols when Britain's voice in Australian affairs was practically nil already? In Australia the idea of being indebted to Britain, even in a symbolic way, hits an increasingly sensitive spot. This development is all the more remarkable since British citizenship was still highly appreciated fifty years ago. It ranked as a privilege and reason for pride.
