A fleeting visit to Australia by Britain?s Prince Charles has already been forgotten, but the former British colony remains gripped with royal fever as homegrown Crown Princess Mary of Denmark enchants the nation?s capital. Australia?s Parliament House was abuzz yesterday as staff deserted their offices to catch a glimpse of Mary and her husband Crown Prince Frederik, who have drawn much larger crowds around Australia than Britain?s embattled heir-to-the-throne Charles.

Some have suggested that Britain?s middle-aged Prince Charles ? who is battling waning popularity over his impending wedding to divorcee Camilla Parker Bowles ? should follow the lead of Frederik and marry an Australian. ?Well done! You showed a lot of sense picking an Australian,? an elderly well-wisher told Frederik when the couple arrived in Canberra on Tuesday. Charles?s five-day visit last week was completely overshadowed by the overlapping tour of Mary and Frederik, who married in May 2004 after a fairytale romance that began with a chance meeting in a Sydney bar during the 2000 Olympics.

?At times your life must be scary, but yer doing us proud, Tassie Mary. Sassy-lass you?ve brought home no frog, yer Prince Fred is better than a kelpie dog,? one well-wisher penned on a poster to greet Mary and Frederik when they arrived in Canberra. Mary is from Tasmania state and a kelpie is a sheepdog. The princess, who was apprehensive about her first visit home since her wedding, has said she has been overwhelmed by the reception the couple have received in Australia. The Canberra Times newspaperyesterday declared her ?The people?s princess?.

Thousands of people gathered at the Australian war memorial, where the couple laid a wreath on Tuesday, while another 500 turned out to see the young couple yesterday at the National Museum of Australia. Among the crowd at the museum were about 50 members of the Ulysses motorbike club, who were unaware that the couple were going to visit, but were quickly swept up in ?Mary-mania?.

Fruit tingles

?I couldn?t get off the bike quick enough (when I heard they were about to arrive). I don?t think any of us had a clue they were here,? Ulysses biker Dawn Robertson said. Mary has also been inundated with packets of ?Fruit Tingles? after saying in a television interview that the fizzy candies were one of the things she missed most about Australia. ?You wouldn?t believe how many packets of these I?ve been given,? Mary said during a visit to the Australian National University.

Later yesterday Mary and Frederik posed for pictures with kangaroos at Government House ? the home of Governor General Michael Jeffery, the representative of Britain?s Queen Elizabeth II in Australia. Mary and Frederik then met Prime Minister John Howard at his residence, The Lodge, for afternoon tea. Charles completed his first visit to Australia in more than a decade on Saturday, when he flew to New Zealand. He headed to Fiji on yesterday and then return to Britain to prepare for his April 8 wedding.

Michelle NICHOLS