Echoes of the past as William shows he has popular touch

On his short unofficial visit to Australia this week, following on from an official trip to New Zealand in the preceding days, Prince William ticked all the boxes. He played ping-pong (allowing the locals to feel superior on that front), showed off his shooting, rugby and cricketing skills, revealed his taste in music, heckled a TV presenter, and tossed steaks and chops around on the grill as though born to the job.

He kissed babies, ruffled older children's hair, gladly accepted and returned the smackers that rained down upon his cheeks from women young and old in crowds which had in some places waited for hours for a glimpse of the prince.

The girls wanted to marry him; men thought he was a relaxed,

straightforward sort of guy they'd be happy to have a pint with. Praise indeed.

The banners and screams of adulation beamed across the world were reminiscent of scenes from the mists of time – from the heady first couple of years of the Waleses' marriage, when Charles and Diana visited Australia complete with their golden-haired first-born

princelet, then an adorable nine-month-old.

Was it really 27 years ago that Australians first took him to their hearts and re-christened him Willie Wombat, a pet name his mother apparently continued to use until her death?

Most commentators Down Under have pronounced that the tone of the Prince's visit was well-pitched. After a Christmas Day speech in which his grandmother dwelled on this country's bonds with the Commonwealth, the Queen's rumoured request that William travel to New Zealand and Australia was really a master-stroke, considering that many Australians are in favour of breaking their country's ties with the British monarchy.

Of course, voters of that stripe won't have been among the self-selecting fans on the streets of Sydney and Melbourne these last few days, as the informal William, dressed whenever possible in cord jeans, open-neck shirt and trainers, got down with the locals, who included pipe-smoking Aboriginals leading a welcome dance in his honour.

Not since the his doe-eyed, uber-empathetic mother have we seen anyone in "the firm" warmly reassuring a member of the public who apologised for omitting to call him "Prince". He patted her hand and told her not to worry. How different from the posy-carrying formality, manicured protocol and short, micro-managed bouts of exposure to the public that govern most royal visits.

The prince visited a school where he was treated to a hip-hop

performance, and flew into Victoria, where thousands of homes were destroyed in last year's "Black Saturday" bush fires. He spoke with genuine horror of the stories victims told him, and of his admiration for those who had worked tirelessly to save fellow citizens and in the reconstruction of the area.

Before boarding his London-bound plane from Melbourne, he joined in Australia Day celebrations, and put his suit back on for a speech in which he called Australia "a country for the 21st century" and pressed the right buttons with comments about the values of decency, courage, humour and ability to face down adversity shared between Australia and the Mother Ship.

The Australian media has generally reported the visit positively, although it prompted the usual comment pieces about the value of the monarchy.

In a whirlwind few days during which there were plenty of opportunities for the young royal to stick his foot in an awkward place, he only committed one gaffe, when talking about having the "pi**" taken out of him for his taste in music. His minders declared this to be at the minor end of unacceptable language. The plain-speaking Australians apparently didn't turn a hair.

Only one pundit back home has broken into print to voice displeasure at the informality of the Australian visit, calling it "un-royal". In her opinion, exploding the myth of the wonderful "otherness" of being born to have your face on stamps and bank notes is a bad thing.

Well, apart from the argument that William's grandfather follows all the formalities, and still has a tendency to offend even after his many years at the job, I think William did well. And although we know he will never be "like us", to many people there and here, being seen to try to appear normal is surely the more acceptable face of 21st century royalty.