In the days following Queen Elizabeth's death, questions over whether or not New Zealand should become a republic were once again raised. But what would a change actually mean for Aotearoa?
In 1995, the Queen signed off on the Tainui treaty settlement while on a visit to New Zealand. It was one of the more than 200 visits to Commonwealth countries she made during her reign.
But now the reign's over, questions have been raised over whether or not we should become a republic.
"I do believe that New Zealand will become a republic in my lifetime but I don't believe there's a sense of urgency from New Zealanders," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
The Commonwealth's a jigsaw puzzle of nations that's changed considerably since its inception in 1931. Currently, of the 56 members, 15 still share the monarch as Head of State - including us, Australia, Canada, and, of course, the UK - while 36 are republics and the rest have their own monarchy.
Dean Knight's an associate law professor and member of the group campaigning for us to become a republic. He's written a paper on how we could break away from the Crown. The most simple way would be to make our Governor-General the Head of State.
"No one's seriously talking about moving to a US-style presidential system," he said. "The easiest way to become a republic is to elevate the office of Governor-General from being the Queen's representative to being the Head of State in their own right."
There are concerns over what happens to Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.
"Nowadays when we talk about the Crown's obligations, we're really talking about mostly the New Zealand Government's obligations under Te Tiriti," said Mihiata Pirini, a Māori law lecturer at the University of Otago.
Becoming a republic could actually be a good thing.
"How we design republic arrangements that put Te Tiriti at the centre… It's an opportunity to do something new and different, potentially transformative," Pirini said.
But ditching the monarchy's so non-urgent, it appears Government officials have never been asked to research how much it would cost.
"It's not on our Government's work programme," said deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson.
But what is the appetite on the streets?
"I reckon the thing should be left well alone," said one person.
"I don't think England should have any rule over any country bar their own to be honest," said another.
"We should remain at this stage," added a third.
"I think it is right to stay there," a fourth said.
The reigniting of the republic debate in the wake of Queen Elizabeth's death was inevitable but no one in Parliament has the political courage to pull the trigger and start a formal, national conversation, a conversation that would then have to be put to a referendum for any of this to actually happen.
