It confuses many people at first glance. Australia is one of the world’s most stable democracies — it has elections, a parliament, a constitution, and compulsory voting. So why does its air force carry the monarchical title “Royal”?
The answer is that Australia is both a democracy and a constitutional monarchy. The two are not contradictory.
1. Australia is still a Crowned Democracy
Australia is not a republic. Under the Australian Constitution, the head of state is the Sovereign. Since 8 September 2022, that is King Charles III. The King is represented in Australia by the Governor-General, who is constitutionally the de jure Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force.
The executive power of the Commonwealth is formally vested in the Crown and exercised on the advice of the elected government. This is the classic Westminster system. So while Australians elect their government, that government governs in the name of the Crown. This is why political scientists often describe Australia as a “constitutional sovereign monarchy or crowned republic”.
This is why Australia has the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Military College Duntroon, and Royal Commissions. The “Royal” denotes that the institution derives its ultimate authority from the Crown.
2. Where the “Royal” Came From
The Australian Air Force was formed on 31 March 1921, as the successor to the Australian Air Corps.
It was, at the time, only the second independent air force in the world — after Britain’s Royal Air Force formed in 1918.
Shortly after its formation, the Australian government sought permission from the King to add the honorific. King George V approved the prefix “Royal” in June 1921 and it became effective on 31 August 1921, via an order signed by the Governor-General. The order was published in the Commonwealth Gazette on 13 August.
With that approval, it became the RAAF — the second Royal air arm in the British Commonwealth, following the RAF.
At the time, Australia was a Dominion within the British Empire. Getting a “Royal” title was both an honour and a mark that the new service had met the standard of a regular, professional force of the Empire.
3. Why Keep It in a Modern Democracy?
Australia considered becoming a republic in the 1999 referendum and voted to retain the monarchy. But even if it had become a republic, it might have kept “Royal.”
There are two reasons:
a) Tradition and identity: The RAAF has fought under the “Royal” name for over 100 years — from World War II to peacekeeping, bushfire relief and Antarctic surveys. The name carries its battle honours, its motto Per Ardua Ad Astra (Through Adversity to the Stars), and its institutional continuity.
b) Democracy does not exclude royalty: Many of the world’s most democratic countries are constitutional monarchies — the United Kingdom, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Japan, Canada and New Zealand. Their armed forces also carry Royal titles. The title does not mean the King owns or runs the Air Force; it means the Air Force serves the nation as embodied by the Crown, not a political party.
In the Australian system, loyalty of the Defence Force is to the Crown and the Constitution, above any individual politician or government. That is seen as a safeguard in a Westminster democracy.
So the “Royal” in RAAF is not a contradiction. It is a reminder of Australia’s history, its legal structure as a constitutional monarchy, and its origin as the second air force in the world to earn the King’s approval to call itself Royal.
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