In one of those ironic twists that have a habit of surprising us when we least expect to be, Australia, wrestling with republicanism, played host to four royal guests earlier this month.  And, what a time the country had! 

It�s hard to believe that �royal fever� occupied the minds of many and took up pages of newspapers daily that are usually more inclined to spruik the good word of republicanism.  Nevertheless, for a moment, royalty drew crowds reminiscent of those over twenty years ago, when we were more at one with monarchy. 

There was no question that Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was bound to muster curiosity but the tens of thousands that made the effort to go and try to get a glimpse of her certainly astonished many observers (including me) and, from what I can gather, the hometown girl and her cheeky faced husband as well. 

As a relative novice to royal life, Mary carried the challenge of meeting and greeting constantly, like a veteran.  There were the expected comparisons to Diana, Princess of Wales but to me, if one must compare, Mary�s persona is more reminiscent of the late Queen Mother.  The Crown Princess of Denmark (and Australia, it seems..) carries herself in a very controlled manner.  She is spontaneous but without that playful glint in the eye that Diana had but definitely exudes the friendly, interested way of the late Queen Elizabeth. 

One engagement was held in Melbourne, my hometown, where the Crown Princely couple opened a live television relay between Melbourne and Copenhagen.  Mary gave a more-or-less unwritten speech and chattered away as if it was going to be her last.  The crowd loved it and she blushed happily as a man in the crowd yelled out, �We love you, Mary!� Her sense of humour appeared when concluding her speech to open the live telecast, she mused that, �I feel like I should be pushing a button or something�. 

Crown Prince Frederik, all through the tour, handled his wife�s popularity with apparent ease.  When questioned about it further into the tour he said that he was �very proud of her� and how she had handled the attention since her return �home�.  Indeed, his affable way and cheeky smile seems to have earned him dual citizenship.  A number of letters to the editor in newspapers around the country suggested that we swap the British Royal Family for the Danes. 

I must admit that when I heard that our possible future King was due to visit during the Dane�s tour, I felt a slight pang of intestinal discomfort.  I am not a �Charles hater�, nor a Charles lover.  He is, as those who met him during his brief trip attested, a �likeable bloke� but he is a man with �a past�, one that will sadly haunt him for the rest of his life.  For this reason, I found myself wondering just what kind of reception he would receive. 

There is no doubt that this �past� has, over the years, fuelled the move to Australia becoming a republic.  There have always been republicans here, as in any constitutional monarchy but the Charles, Diana and Camilla debacle certainly caused massive cracks in the ties between Australia and the Crown. 

The Prince of Wales can only have had trepidations himself.  To give him credit, he bravely walked behind the coffin of his beloved ex wife when much of the Commonwealth wanted to tear him apart, so perhaps he felt he could face anything thereafter. 

It had been, in fact, almost two decades since he last visited Australia, which seems almost unforgivable and certainly could be seen as a possible lack of interest in the people he may one day reign over.  In fact, his son and heir Prince William has been here only once, as a baby.  One can�t help but wonder what sort of public relations plan has been developed at Buckingham Palace and Clarence House for the future of monarchy in countries that retain a direct link to the Crown. 

Certainly, while Charles�s trip lacked the glamour of Mary and Frederik's, it was anything but a failure.  There were not the crowds that greeted the Danish couple but in his own way, he charmed those he met, even in some staunchly republican suburbs of Melbourne.  One young girl of about six years of age (who had either been eavesdropping on her parent�s conversations or was remarkably abreast of current affairs for her aged) said to Charles that she �hoped he loved the lady he was going to marry�.  The Prince answered her saying, �I do.  Very much�. 

The last royal visit to Australia was Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who spent ten days in the country on behalf of Swedish trade.  While her visit was comparatively low key, the same cannot be said of her schedule.  Apparently when the Crown Princess first saw her itinerary, she accused her staff of �not working me hard enough�.  In the end, her engagement schedule can only be called exhausting, far heavier than Mary and Frederik over the same time. 

Those who met the woman, who will one day be Queen of Sweden, were very impressed by her kind manner, unpretentious way and elegant dress.  A friend of mine, who had actually never heard of her, had to introduce her to others at an engagement and could not believe that royalty could be so approachable and 'normal'.  

All during the visits, columnists in various newspapers mused at the public's reaction to the visits.  Some of the more vicious republican journalists told us how ridiculous we were being and others put the fervour down simply to Mary being an Australian and Charles�s trip to Australians just being polite while he was here. What none dared ask was whether most Australians were ideologically republican or whether most would possibly just prefer a Head of State who lived permanently in the country.  

One young woman in a crowd outside one of Mary and Frederik�s engagements said that Mary becoming a princess meant to her that anything in life is possible and that any girl today could possibly do the same. 

I believe that royalty, even today, attracts people because despite our egalitarian ways, it�s still nice (in the good sense of the word nice) to believe in fairytales.  Like the birth of a child, a decent, hard-working royal can give us hope for the future and respite in times of trouble.  Impartial monarchs can unite us in a way that politicians cannot and unlike celebrities, royalty represents much more than self-promotion.   

Life in most cultures on Earth centers around families - all kinds of families these days - so it is not really surprising that given our tribal instincts, so many enjoy having a family at the forefront of a nation's identity.

- Gioffredo
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