Anthony Albanese is experiencing the monarch's burden

The Prime Minister has been at pains to maintain a semblance of order since being elected in May, but he is now in charge of a nation which is simultaneously mourning the great constant Queen Elizabeth II while it bristles under the weight of republican yearnings and some other year's strict protocols and traditions.

Underlying it all, Mr Albanese - a known republican - is experiencing the monarch's burden. He is now bound by duty.

There is no room to discuss heads on $5 notes or whether to hold a public holiday to mourn the Queen. There is only space for respect for a most singular woman not yet dead a week.

"I'm speaking about a funeral that will take place of Queen Elizabeth II next Monday and I'm being asked a question about her replacement on the five dollar note," Mr Albanese said.

"I think this is a time where a bit of respect is required. We will deal with these issues appropriately, in an orderly way, in a way that is respectful. So I have not turned my attention towards that matter."

As any family knows, and the Commonwealth is a large family, funerals can be a difficult business. It might be especially difficult when one family member is getting all independent as it grows.

It is the prime minister's duty to put a cap on it. To stress "now is not the time" to go republican rogue.

So on the news of the delegation of Australians being sent to the funeral at the request of Buckingham Palace, Mr Albanese had no time for journalist questions about whether "consideration was given" to any "diversity of viewpoints on monarchy".

"We didn't do a survey. Seriously, we didn't do a survey. We are paying respect here," he said dripping with frustration.

Queen Elizabeth, beloved by so many, has also been too distant for others.

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It is not possible for everyone to have the same feelings about her passing, particularly many First Nations Australians. The history of colonisation can make mourning the monarch a bridge too far.

Mr Albanese made it clear on Tuesday, as he prepares to fly to London for the state funeral, that it was on his mind and pointed to the great importance of Sorry Business to Indigenous Australians.

But he is hoping all the divergent views on the monarchy, his own currently suppressed ones included, can come together for a brief moment of "national unity".

"My views have not changed. But I am of the very firm view, that I believe aligns with the views of the overwhelming majority of Australians, that this is a time in which people are both giving with grief, but also they are giving respect for the life of service of Queen Elizabeth II," he said.

"That is something that is, in my view, above what people's views about other issues may or may not be. And similarly, I think it is a time whereby I want this to be an occasion of national unity.

"I see no reason why that can't be the case, regardless of what people's views are about the system of government."

The unity may well come from the single word, "goodbye".