Yes Greg

This is indeed an abnoxious comment on life in the 19th century as we know it.

And it gets worse you know.

Some wag named "Apple man" clearly from Tasmania and known to the said Mary, has taken it upon himself to out her and poke fun at that State.

Apple man's post (http://www.roadtosurfdom.com/archives/2005/10/placenta_of_att.html#comments) is so abhorent that I feel I should repeat it in full:

"Look I told Mary I'd stand up for her, and I did in more ways than one.

Incest is the write of every Tasmanian.

And let me tell u sunny - bad words about our Mary are chucking on all Tasmanians and our Governor - God Bless Him.

Now you one-headed Mainlanders think your pretty bloody gud don't ya. Well we Taswegians are twice as good in the head department. And we fort for this country which is more than I can say....where am I?

Our Mary is going to be Queen of a Very Important Yerapean country - so your all gellous.

There I ced it - where were we Rover?"

Disgusting

Yes. This 'our Princess Mary' and, today, 'our bonny prince'has reached the absurd. A Danish Crown Princess is not 'ours' at all. She is now a Dane, citizen of a country previously rarely mentioned in Australia. What's the betting that the growing up prince will be invited to spend some time in Australia at our expense because he is half-Australian? We are still a bunch of forelock tuggers, really.

No point commenting - aussie bob said it all pretty well:

"Mary and Whateverhisnameis aren't even OUR (Pommy) royals: they're Danish fer Chrissake, the tinpot descendants of a patricidal, minor Scandanavian war clan, done up to look like a wet dream from The Brothers Grimm.

When babies all over the world are dying from preventable diseases in the first few weeks of life, when wars are being waged against the children of the Middle East, we wet our pants over something that could have come from a Nelson Eddie and Jeanette McDonald movie. The thought of Australia swooning over a flaccid, pink skinned scion of second rate trash royalty because its mother's from Tassie and met her dopey, crybaby Prince Charming in a Sydney bar is too awful to contemplate. Yet contemplate it we must, for it's really happening"

Such spite, tch tch.

Maybe the coverage of Mary's baby and the public's appetite for it riles republicans because it shows that Aussies don't actually mind royalty.

Of course, many don't really like the ones we've been lumped with and who can blame them, but still the way we have latched onto the Danish royals shows we still beleive in fairy tales. Not exactly a bad thing.

Any one who has a daughter treats her like a princess and wants her to be the best person she can be in our meritocracy, as Greg puts it. But i wouldn't mind if my daughter married a prince who loved her and became a princess.

Surely there are better things to be bitter about than a happily married couple celebrating the birth of their child.

t.u.s

It's so rediculous, isn't it? Over 54 000 people have tragically died in Pakistan, but the Australian media decides Fred and Mary having a baby is more deserving of the front page.

SHOCK BIRTH: HUSBAND AND WIFE HAVE CHILD!

The Australian tabloid media just want a royal family to write crass stories on. Shane Warne--naughty; Princess Mary--lovely.

We don't have any royalty here in Oz, so why not leech off another country?

The executives at Packer's magazine holdings are rubbing their hands together as we speak.

I always did like those Jeanette McDonald / Nelson Eddy movies.

Greg is right when he says that this is a rare good news story - people are so ready for something other than lying politicians and the body count from the latest disaster.

And it's very Australian because it's a celebration of "niceness". Don't they appear to be very nice people ? Why should we see so much of Paris Hilton et al when we can look at Frederick and Mary? A Nobel Prize is a very fine thing, but compared to a baby ? No one has an instinctive response to a Nobel Prize (well, maybe to the million $$).

TUS - Yes, not my words but I agree with the sentiment. And you've either deliberately misinterpreted the sentiments posted here in order to get noticed, or you're being obtuse: No one is saying there is "bitterness" about being happily married and having babies. It's more about the media telling us we still believe in fairy tales and spinning the same story over and over again. And good luck to you if you want to participate in that. I personally don't know anyone that is as interested as what the media is making out we are (you're the first). ps: Your daughter won't don't need money to be treated like a princess by the right man

If you don't like reading about it - don't. The media is in the business of selling newspapers and magazines, and if stories about Mary and bub do that, so be it.

And if so many people think it is such a memorable event, it means they are pretty happy with their lot and Australia is going okay.

t.u.s

t.u.s. as usual, you accurately observe the characters of posters and in this case the article author.

I personally, have no interest in matters regal. That said, I have sufficient imagination and absence of envy to support your own view – live and let live.
The last time I looked, Denmark was not part of the Australian Federal Territory.
Similarly, regal ascendency (particularly Danish accession) imposes no obligation on any Australian.

That Greg Barnes is so small minded as to attempt to make some political pin-prick over the matter and other “nongs”, similarly bereft of magnanimity as to agree with him says far more about the left hand sweep of Australia’s political pendulum than the nobility of a small European Kingdom.

As for “No doubt many critics will say this article misses the point - that celebrating the rags-to-riches story of Mary is nothing more than a wonderful escape in these dark days of terrorism, earthquakes and tsunamis.”

And Nero, when asked whether to ship into Rome grain for bread or sand for the circus shipped sand etc etc.

Life is not just filled with the boring stuff of existing, I suppose when the socialists wake up to that, they might stand some chance of gaining Federal government again but until then, they will remain out there, in the wilderness, lost (and instantly forgettable).

Shame on all uppity commoners.

Let me say as a Royalist - a supporter of that popular Plantagenet, Edward "Longshanks" - the "Hammer of the Scots" - that an insult to our Mary is an insult to Women's Magazines and therefore to a great many Woman of Australia.

Without the hard data about the Royals that we so love only trivia would remain in Ladies Magazines.

Then remove the trivia from Womens Day, Womens Weekly, New Idea etc you'd be left with a rag as slim as the anorexic Chickie Babe grinning skull-like on the cover.

So I take umbrage at any criticisms of Fred, Mary or dear baby Christian.

Let me end with the words of the late Prime Minister Sir Gordon Menzies about his love for the newly coronated Queen Elizabeth.

"I did but see her passing by and yet I love her till I die".

And now to you dear Mary.

Part One

To Greg, Leigh and Lisamalee,

Not long after 9/11, it was the Canadian philosopher, John Ralston Saul who went on about the Murdoch dominated media, which he intimated, that while accentuating the fear of Islamic terrorism, Murdoch also had the skill to keep a society comatose or dumbed down in dangerous times. We have seen it so much in Westralia lately, which as well as our one public paper, the “West Australian” splashing the significant birth of Tassie Mary’s little-un all over the front page. Having top pride of place on the opinion page, also, was Gerard Henderson, preaching his usual ultra-right wing points of view. No doubts about the political leanings of our only WA public news editor either. A couple of months or so ago on special page 7 was a spread from Mr Costello warning our learning institutions to come in line and be more patriotic, no doubt aping George W’, and his warning after 9/11 about not to reason why - and if you are not with us you must be against us. Maybe Ralston Saul did get too cynical about Canada’s close-by neighbour not long after 9/11, but reading his thoughts, it is so interesting to learn how a powerful media can pretty well run a country, indeed, three countries, as when the English-speaking peoples, the Yanks, Brits, and Aussies all illegally plunged into Iraq together, our little Johnny Howard as proud as punch about it.

So why not get our publics in escape mode for a little while, not only in cricket with our PM in attendance, but also slipping back a hundred and fifty years into those glorious colonial years, when Queen Victoria received the Star of India to adorn her Empress Crown. But after Gandhi’s non-violent revolution, we’ere not sure whether it still graces our Federation of Nation’s Colonial emblem or not?

Part Two

To Greg, Leigh and Lisamaree

If Mr Murdoch does want us to pine for Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of the Free, you can bet your life the Iraqis do not want to be reminded of the colonial days, when it was a colonial India style Dyarky democracy that was promised to Iraq after WW1. In this age of world-encircling missile capabilities, however, no need for either Yanks, Brits or Aussies to be stationed as watch-keepers close by every Iraq-government post, as all can be under command from the White-House, even able to watch-keep as well for Exxon and BP, so much needed by our faithful public to allay our rotten oil-shortage. To buggery with those low-down Arabs, say many of our Aussies in the streets, they’d never have the brains to run their oilfields, anyhow. As the young Churchill said after WW1, when he ordered the RAF to bomb the revolting Iraqis and Kurds, these are only tribesmen of low intelligence, so let ‘em be plastered. In this coming motor age, we want the oil.

It gives reminder that we’d better demand a good look at that Iraqi constitution coming up. Make sure it doesn’t contain some words in invisible ink that will never ever come to public view, but only to Donald Rumsveld and Co, conveniently later on.

The world hasn’t changed much, has it, with little Denmark aping in regalia, the colonial great nations to a T, but not their thieving, we hope?

No wonder we can’t solve the ever worsening problems between Christians and Moslems, when our political leaders seem to have such a meagre knowledge of Western history, that they have to slip back into colonial culture to find respite.

Greg Barnes,

Because Australia is largely made up of sheep who follow whatever is spewed forth by the Murdoch/Packer papers.

Probably the reason the republicans lost the referendum was because the public are well and truely put off by the sheer malice and the cringing spite that comes from the "Off with their 'eads" mob.
In a terrible world full of hatred,bombs,killings, death, it was a relief to read of something happy.
In world full of negatism and bad news to saturation point, a little bit of love and joy is most welcome.
Welcome Baby !

It is no doubt that a Taswegian lass marrying into the ancient Danish Royal family has created an unheralded mass marketing opportunity for anything Danish or Scandinavian here in Oz.

If you like me are part of the Scandinavian diaspora in Australia that can only be good. I am a member of the Scandinavian Choir in Melbourne and we have got a number of extra gigs and much exposure from previous and upcoming visits by the Danish and Swedish royal families.

The next possibility for aussies (deprived of royalty in their own country) to continue to take part in community celebrations taking place all over Denmark is to join Swedes and Danes and Norwegians at the Danish club - Dannebrog -in Midddlepark on Sunday 1pm were we are going to light some fires and sing and drink to celebrate the birth of the son of the Tassie She Devil and Prince Frederik.

But don't expect us to pay to much attention to loyal toasts as we are only there for the mead and spektakel!

“Incest is the write of every Tasmanian.”

Well, I was only educated in simple Tasmanian schools, but I *really* should compliment the author on her/his spelling- nice!

Good luck to Mary and Fredrick. Welcome to the new addition. These are the examples that our children and youth need to look up to and aspire.

You will always have a critic come out to spoil it all.

Obviously he is a Republican.

You're absolutely write wrighta.

"Apple man" (see first post in string) is clearly an undiscovered comic genius and man of letters.

I've warned him in the past though, that it would be imprudent to put his name to posts that could offend some viewers.

In fact he's tied to the back gate wright now going on about his love for Mary and how wonderful it is to be father. Doesn't it make ya spew.

Apple... is clearly too simple to be sad and cynical.

The man needs another good flogging - just say the word.

I enjoyed, and agreed with Greg Barn's comments on the Danish Royal Family.

If I had my way, such archaic and out-dated institutions such as the Danish Royal family would no longer exist.

Cheazor

I look forward to your revolution to rid the world of royalty and then watching you distribute the crown riches to the poorest in society.

Of course, the Danish people might not be so happy for some malcontent in Australia to waltz into their country telling their royals to sod off.

But, you know best about these despicable, (yet benign) European monarchies, which probably impact you very little with their wicked privileged ways.

Off with their heads!

t.u.s.

Tsk Tsk tus

"Off with there heads" is incitement against ones Head of State. You're very very naughty.

Ever since our Queen's 4 bears arrived from Germany (George I) they have presided over their British subjects (and Loyal Aussies) in a most benign manner.

Liz and Phil are, in fact, Britains No.1 tourist exhibits. Their services to tabloid jounalism are immense. Dark anarchists may see them as the Opiate of the Masses.

But this is misleading. As Defenders of the Faith masses have long been verboten and tis only in the last 300 years that the Pope's loyal subjects have been tolerated.

So as a Surreal Royalist ("Monarchists" are liberal wets) I can't wait for Queen Camilla I to preside and King William V (the "Hammer of the Nails") to return the ghost of Diana to the stage.

Cheazor "If I had my way, such archaic and out-dated institutions such as the Danish Royal family would no longer exist. "

For you to have "your way" you would need to be recognised as being blessed with the "Divine Right of Kings"

"Irony", as a source of humour, is much underrated.

Fellow posters will know I am a committed republican and developer of the Honorary President Republican Model (see http://www-personal.usyd.edu.au/~dlatimer/honpres/) and member of the Copernican Group (see http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3703)

I don't think this article does the republican movement any favours, for several reasons:

1. the Danish constitution is a matter for the Danish people.

2. the gifts also help to build Australian-Danish relations and that is supportable regardless of the republican-monarchist debate.

3. the continuation of the Danish monarchy does not affect the issues of substance which drive the republican cause. If anything it reminds Australians that we are deserving of our own Head of State.

4. an Australian becoming a Danish princess is always going interest people and this interest is genuine and heartfelt. My republican model supports the idea of an Australian Head of State, above politics and having a genuine connection with the people.

David

I've looked at your well organised Honorary President (HP) Model hotlink. The model looks unthreatening enough to be a viable and positive step.

One attraction of the HP model is that its positive rather than being anti-royal (or rubbishing the past).

So advocacy for the HP model is not inconsistent with respecting the goodwill some Royals have generated over the years eg the Queen (generally) and obviously Mary now.

Having an Australian as HP would mean much more to so many than having an unelected English person.

Just like to add unnecessarily that young Fred is a very, very lucky guy.

Oh boy. Obviously my first post on online opinion was rather flippant... "If I had my way..." hehehehe. Way to win friends, eh?

I guess the point I was trying to get across is that I don't believe in monarchies. I think they are out-dated. Obviously being an Australian "miscreant" I am barely affected by the rule of a monarch, if at all, but the point made about the divine right of kings (the one made at my expense) is a good one.

Aw shucks, give the little guy a break. He can't help his soverign birth, he's just more likely to survive. At least we know he's not inbred along the Windsor line. We took a poll at the local radio station we volunteer at about his name, the top three were Bruce, Darren and Trevor. He is now affectionately known as Bonnie Prince Trev regardless of the gushing from the Packer Press. Let's just hope he doesn't grow up to be a right royal prat. And leave it at that. The poor poppet shouldn't be picked on, he just happened to be born in the purple circle rather than a slum in Bangladesh. Honestly, he didn't plan it, neither did Mary or Freddy. But Kerry Packer might have!

Dear plantagenet,

Thanks for offering support for the Honorary President Republican Model. It was reviewed in the Senate Inquiry of 2004 and is currently being reviewed by others in the republican movement. Stay tuned.

regards,