An explosion of interest in the subject of Australian republicanism reverberated around the world last week. Grizzled expatriates who thought they were safely holed up in this country were shaken to their foundation garments. There was no dodging the issue. Some said it was the first eruption of a long-simmering volcano. Others thought a squib had gone off. The initial evidence supported the latter theory. Meeting the Queen during her tour of Australia, the Australian Prime Minister’s wife had several times failed to curtsy, while the Prime Minister himself, on at least one occasion, had physically touched the Monarch, perhaps at more than one point.