ANGELA MOLLARD: Don’t worry Charles – Australia won’t throw you out because the kids here love the tiaras, the tantrums and the ‘Kardashians with Crowns’ (even if you don’t..!)

So we ditched the 2026 Commonwealth Games with the claim that we Aussies can no longer afford to support a sporting event when we need the money for homes and hospitals.

Are we really too thin to stump for the bowls and badminton?

Or – the question that lingers – is this the touch paper for Australia’s latest push towards republicanism?

With the royals already jettisoned in former Commonwealth realms like Barbados, with not-so-shiny Charles and Camilla at the helm plus some general disenchantment with the Poms over the cricket, it’s fair to speculate.

According to Philip Benwell of the Australian Monarchist League, “We see a lot of republicanism by the Prime Minister.”

Benwell cites not only the dumping of the Commonwealth Games, but also the removal of King Charles from our $5 bill and the lackluster political involvement in the recent coronation as evidence of our leaders’ distancing themselves from the motherland.

And writing in the Australian newspaper this weekend, columnist Nikki Gemmell challenged King Charles to dig into his own “vast wealth” if he is so attached to the concept of the Games.

The Commonwealth Fames, she suggested, are “rooted in ancient certainties of empire and monarchy and colonies; certainties that are crumbling, and seemingly fast in this post-Elizabethan era.”

Moreover, according to Gemmell, we are not particularly pleased with the renewed Carolean era.

Recent royals’ balcony appearances showcase the incredible disappearing family. Physically, and also in our mind.’

“Charles has not his mother’s brilliance, and the stamina of the monarchy depends on enchantment; or in other words, mass delusion.

“We just don’t get it with the new guy, and the cancellation of the games feels like a symptom of that.”

All this is typical enough.

But I beg to differ. I don’t think dumping the Games suggests we’re about to cut our ties with the UK,

The good news for Charles is that we are too preoccupied with domestic issues at the moment to think much about it.

In particular, we are stuck with another – and very controversial – referendum to enshrine the indigenous vote to parliament in our constitution.

With the nation polarized, the Republican movement has wisely set aside its ambitions until it is well out of the way later this year.

Besides, post-Covid and with interest rates continuing to rise, we are more concerned with the prosaic matter of paying our mortgages than with questions of sovereignty and governance.

Also keep in mind that the country is all set for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. After ushering in the new millennium with a cork event in Sydney in 2000, we’re hoping for more of the same.

The poor old Commonwealth Games pale in comparison.

But even without all these distractions, I don’t think Australia is planning a divorce anytime soon.

Yes, a few would have us believe we’re about to do a Barbados. That there is a republican conspiracy to overthrow the royal family.

Still, we’re fascinated by the tantrums and tiaras.

We may not have quite the reverence we paid the late Queen Elizabeth, but Megxit, Spare and The Crown have repositioned royalty as light entertainment for a generation more concerned with the drama and less with history.

As disrespectful as it sounds, the royal family are the Kardashians with crowns for much younger Australians.

Our tabloid magazine industry certainly still sees them as money wasters – just look at the supermarket shelves – and as a royal commentator on two of our popular TV networks, I am routinely stopped by members of the public asking about some royal story .

“What do you think will happen to Meghan and Harry?” has replaced house prices as the basis for barbecue talk, especially as Sydney enjoys unseasonably warm mid-winter temperatures of 25 degrees.

Moreover, the question is whether the numbers for a republic stack up.

A poll taken after the Queen’s death showed that only 43 percent supported the Republic of Australia, down from the 45.13 percent who voted in favor when the last major referendum was held in 1999.

Part of the issue was the presidential model on offer.

When we scour the world for working republics, we are hardly encouraged by countries like China, Iran, Russia or even the United States.

A despot, or even a Trump, is not easy to get rid of once they have a taste of power.

And we would struggle to find someone to elevate.

As a nation committed to “tall poppy syndrome” — forced to cut down anyone we think is too tall for their boots — the only candidate I can think of thanks to his lifelong ability to drive the Poms crazy is Shane Warne, sadly no longer with us.

In his absence, I suspect we would continue with a rather rumpled and troubled king.