This coronation, the ninth since the 1788 settlement, recalls the golden thread that goes from the Magna Carta, through the Glorious Revolution, the settlement itself and the formation of our federal commonwealth under the Crown.
Notwithstanding today’s serious problems, the Australian Commonwealth remains one of the half-dozen oldest continuing democracies in the world.
The coronation is not some curious, quaint and superfluous ceremony. It is directly relevant to the past, present and future, including the still unrealised potential of the Australian Commonwealth.