On the one hand, as Australia's Prime Minister, he needed to show respect for Australia's head of state in her palatial home. On the other, there's no escaping the fact that he is Australia's most prominent republican, leading the "yes" campaign in the failed 1999 referendum.

So, Turnbull solved the situation by calling himself an "Elizabethan".

"Even republicans like myself can be, and in my case are, very strong Elizabethans as well," he said, in comments that could only be described as gushing. "The Queen has embodied selfless public service, dignity, wisdom, leadership for and more magnificently than anyone alive today, there is not doubt."

It is not the first time he has played the Elizabethan card. He's also used it to postpone any serious political debate about the republic until Her Majesty is no longer with us.

"The vast majority of Australians have known no other head of state than the Queen. She is so admired and respected that few of us can say – whether monarchists or republicans – that we are not Elizabethans," he said in a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the Australian Republic Movement last December. "I do not believe Australians would welcome let alone support another republic referendum during her reign. And as you know I have held this view for some time."

Are we all Elizabethans now?

Having reigned since 1952, when Winston Churchill was still prime minister, the Queen is a certainly a figure of stability and nostalgia. At 91, she is also a trooper as she continues to don the crowns, gloves and handbags for the endless handshakes, state dinners and speeches. Meanwhile, Netflix's popular series, The Crown, has recently shown the Queen as a plucky, conscientious young woman thrust into a hugely difficult job. It doesn't hurt that the Queen in this $13 million per episode series is also pretty glamorous.

"The level of support amongst Australians for the Queen is enormous," says Australian Monarchist League spokesperson Rachel Bailes. "Her Majesty is a meaningful anchor of stability and endurance for the Australian people."

This is a far cry from public perceptions of the Queen 20 years ago, as an out-of-touch monarch presiding over a dysfunctional family. The 1990s seemed to have bring one disaster after another for the Queen, from Charles and Di's messy divorce, to Fergie's cringe-worthy toe sucking incident and Diana's tragic death.

In a recent article in the Australian Journal of Political Science, Luke Mansillo notes there have been "considerable improvements" in the monarchy's public profile with Prince William and Kate Middleton's 2011 wedding and the arrival of their children George and Charlotte in 2013 and 2015. Along with these positive happenings, the young royals have remained scandal-free (apart from the odd Nazi costume). They also appear more modern than previous generations, speaking out on issues such as mental health and doing relevant jobs, such as serving in Afghanistan or working as an air ambulance helicopter pilot.

Says Sydney University's Mansillo, young Australians who don't have constitutional angst over the 1975 Dismissal or memories of the Charles and Di mayhem have "no reason to dislike the monarchy".

The gossip magazines (and mainstream news sites) continue to whir with breathless minor updates of Kate, William and Harry's exploits. This has recently included the news that the Duchess of Cambridge attended Wimbledon, had a haircut and wore a tiara that Diana used to like.

"[The royals] are the ultimate celebrities in a way, they don't disappear," Mansillo adds.

And yet, despite the good press – and the squeamishness around republic chatter while the Queen is alive – polling indicates that goodwill towards the Queen is not overwhelming. The Australian National University's Australian Election Study tracks attitudes towards the Queen since the 1960s. In 2016, 43 per cent of respondents rated the Queen as "important", up from a low of 30 per cent in 1998 – a year after Diana's death – but still below a high of 54 per cent at the end of the 1970s.

Social researcher at Essential Media, Rebecca Huntley, cautions that there is no significant research to indicate whether being fond of the royal family means people are less likely to be republican. Dr Huntley adds it is possible to be interested in the monarchy – and say, the latest updates about Prince George's cheeks – and still back a republic.

"We could look at the young royals and think we really admire them. But does the system represent us?"

But the do-nothing Elizabethan argument is helped by the fact that there is little buzz around a republic. According to the ANU poll, only a slim majority of Australians support a republic. As of 2016, 53 per cent favoured the change, down from 66 per cent in 1998 ahead of the referendum.

The Australian Republic Movement, however, reports it has been revitalised in recent years. While he will not specify numbers, national director Michael Cooney says membership has grown "five fold" in the past two years. The ARM is pushing for a plebiscite in 2020 to determine the model for a republic, followed by a referendum in 2022 and is devoting its energies to generating grassroots support. "We're moving from being a lobby association to being a campaign," says Cooney.

Cooney, a former adviser to prime minister Julia Gillard, dismisses the idea that the republic can't be contemplated while Queen Elizabeth is alive.

"The Queen herself is undoubtedly more popular than the institution of the monarchy. [But] we don't get to choose who the next one is. And we basically get a Queen Elizabeth every 400 years."

Australian National University emeritus professor and former ARM chair, John Warhust, cautions the Elizabethan argument puts the republic on a "hiding to nothing", given the popularity of the William and Co. coming up behind their grandmother.

"If you're not going to move when the Queen's there and you think the younger royals are going to be so popular," he says, "you can't be very serious about becoming a republic."

Labor seems to have no qualms about calling for a republic during the Elizabethan era. Opposition leader Bill Shorten has previously called for an Australian republic by 2025 and there is hope among republic supporters that should Labor win the next federal election, due in 2019, then this would kick-start a national debate again in earnest.

All of this assumes, of course, that the Queen would be hurt or surprised if Australia voted to become a republic. She is notoriously inscrutable, but the little public indications we have suggest the royal household would be unfussed by an Australian republic.

It has been reported that Prince Philip's response to the 1999 "no" vote was: "What's the matter with these people? Can't they see what's good for them?"

The Queen, hardly offended, reportedly chimed in: "Well, they couldn't agree on the model."