Yes, times have changed. Now we start off in Māori, which is nice, since the English words of God Defend New Zealand are a bit naff...Grigoris wrote: ↑Fri May 18, 2018 4:39 pm I remember as a school kid in New Zealand the national anthem was "God Save the Queen", the Sex Pistols version came out about the same time I started to understand the ridiculousness of singing God Save the Queen on the complete opposite side of the planet from the Queen...
I think the monarchy has become rather irrelevant here, though Harry was mobbed when he visited a couple of years ago. I do like the idea of my monarchs being safely over the other side of the world, funded by someone else...
In practice our Governor General is the head of state, and they are selected locally (and only have a figure-head capacity).
Mike