Homecoming queen

When Crown Princess Mary of Denmark recently returned home to Australia with her husband, Frederik, and their two children, she discovered there is no such thing as a holiday when charity calls, reports Wendy Squires.

See Mary and Frederik and more famous royal weddings here

The grey Audi four-wheel drive emerged from the driveway flanked by a line of cars carrying Tasmanian police officers, royal bodyguards, assorted local and international media, and the ever-present paparazzi. Slowly the convoy trailed the car for several blocks, where it pulled up outside a cluster of shops in West Hobart. There, the driver, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, disembarked and raced into a chemist, emerging minutes later carrying two packets of nappies — one pink, one blue — before returning to the car and driving back to her sister’s, the parade of cars once again in close pursuit.

This simple task would be an everyday activity for most women with two young children, but Mary is no ordinary mum, something her recent trip home to Australia made more apparent than ever. It was supposed to be an unofficial visit, but it appears there is no such thing these days for Mary, whose every move — no matter how pedestrian — makes headlines both here and in her adopted home of Denmark. It is a dichotomy of sorts for the laid-back royal who, only eight years ago, was a newly graduated Tasmanian law student working in Sydney real estate, used to a life of independence and spontaneity.

While part of her still craves the ordinary life, Mary is also aware that constant attention has a positive side, in that it allows her to deflect the spotlight onto the causes she passionately champions. So, on this visit, she again strove to balance both desires, spending private time catching up with her sisters, Jane Stephens and Patricia Bailey, as well as using her celebrity to attract attention to the charities close to her heart.

See Mary and Frederik and more famous royal weddings here