Thanks for the comments about Mary's Australian and your info on Australian accents. That's something I personally find very interesting. - And I've learned something. Not a bad way to start a day.
Now that the official part of the visit is over, what are your thoughts?
From the hip:
I'm very glad and pleased to see the genuine warmth and interest M&F, Mary in particular, was recieved with by the Australians. While still respecting the role Mary has now, I.e. an official royal representative for Denmark.
There were however a couple of times when I looked and heard some the onlookers and thought: Easy now, Mary is still a mortal.
I thought Mary handled herself with grace and warmth. She was genuine and natural, yet professional.
Pride is such a strong word but it comes close. In any way it confirmed what I believe. Mary is queen material.
Frederik deserve a bit of praise as well. He stood back and allowed Mary the center stage. He seemed confident and I noticed from the few clips I heard that he spoke English without his usually very heavy accent. Presumably from being surrounded almost 24/7 by English speakers. I also think his laid back style and interaction with children suited this visit.
In short: M&F passed the dress rehersal and they are more than ready to take over.
I think this presented M&F and thus the DRF and as a consequence Denmark (and Danish products) in a very positive light in the eyes of the Australians. In that respect as well M&F succeeded.
Now, from Googling news stories it's very difficult to get an idea about how this visit was covered and how big an interest there really was in the Australian media. My impression is that it was covered fairly well and that there was a good deal of general interest. Am I off the mark?