I watched in awe last night as Mary walked out of hospital with her baby prince to an enormous crowd. Despite having given birth days earlier she was incredibly calm and dressed immaculately. I found Frederick and Mary’s radiance and warmth to the spontaneous crowd that had gathered very touching. When I saw them together with their baby boy I had this lovely sense of pride.
I don’t usually consider myself as nationally patriotic. I’m not interested in sport or celebrity and I certainly don’t support the current government. But I share with many other Tasmanians a strong sense of patriotism for my island state. I can’t help but look at her and think ‘that’s our princess!’ Perhaps my sense of pride can also be attributed to growing up knowing Mary as my sister’s friend. They went to school together, and later my sister stayed with her family while they were at university and we were living in NSW. Of course Mary was just like one of us. Perhaps that’s why we find her fairytale so extraordinary.
