Mary And Son

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday October 18, 2005

The birth of a son to Princess Mary and Prince Frederik of Denmark has brought joy to most Danes and pleasure to most Australians. There are three broad reasons Australians feel close to the birth of an heir to the Danish throne. One is the phenomenon of birth itself. Women do it every day, but few everyday acts can match the magic of childbirth. Another - let's face it - is the fact that the royal couple are attractive and photogenic. Third, and most importantly, Princess Mary is one of us, an Australian.

Australians revealed something of their feelings towards Frederik and Mary in February, when their presence coincided with a visit by Prince Charles, heir to the British throne and, according to the Australian constitution, son of our head of state. Australians took much more interest in their Danish-Australian connection than in the British.

Anthropologists might wonder one day why royal families lasted so long. No one who believes in the claims of merit or the pursuit of equality could defend their inherited role. Yet there may be sound historical and psychological grounds for the monarchy, such as simple sentiment. The Queen provides a sense of stability in an unstable world. It is 345 years since the British divested their monarchy of the aura of divine right and 150 years since Walter Bagehot wrote of the modern monarchy: "We must not let daylight in upon magic." Daylight was let in in the 1970s, the magic disappeared and the people discovered a royal family in many ways attractive and in some ways dysfunctional. The Queen has endured, with dignity, good sense and some humour, while much about her has changed dramatically. The continued existence of the British Commonwealth owes more to her than to any political leader of the last half-century.

The Danish monarchy, like the British, has stood the test of time. It can be traced back to Gorm the Old in the 10th century, his son Harald Bluetooth and Canute. The House of Glucksborg took over from the House of Oldenborg when King Frederik VII died without issue in 1863. The Danes share with the British many of the qualities of old monarchies - the romance, the history, the occasional silliness, the source of entertainment, inspiration and tragedy. The Danes, however, seem to have managed better the transition to a modern society. Mary has a role to play in that transition, in an age when princesses are not just for looking at and producing heirs.