How Diana won the hearts of Australians – despite a very dismissive prime minister – on her first royal foreign tour
She was on Princess Diana’s very first foreign tour, to Australia and New Zealand only 21 with a ten month old child Prince William in tow – and faced a barrage of anti-royal sentiment.
She and Prince Charles landed in Australia in March 1983. The Daily Mail reported at the time that Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke did not even bow to the couple, while his wife Hazel did.
Anti-royal Hawke initially dismissed their visit as not the “most important” thing he would do in his first few months as the country’s new leader, historian Robert Lacey said in his book Battle Of Brothers.
He had only been elected earlier that year and Charles and Diana had originally been invited by former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.
However, by the end of the trip they had captured the hearts of many Australians.
The Princess of Wales and Prince Charles wave to the crowd at the Bentley Hockey Stadium in Perth during their visit to Australia in 1983
Diana carries Prince William as they arrive at Alice Springs Airport at the start of their tour in March 1983
Diana, wearing a peach dress designed by Bellville Sassoon, is greeted by the crowd during a walk on March 25, 1983 in Canberra
Diana attracted a lot of attention during the tour and large crowds gathered to see the princess.
Lacey told how a photographer, Jayne Fincher, said: ‘We went to Sydney and wanted to photograph her with the Opera House, but just as we got there it was like all of Sydney had come out.
“It was just a sea of people… and all you could see was the top of this little pink hat floating by.”
The profound impact Diana had was also noted by her husband, who was greeted by disappointed crowds as he walked to one side and his wife walked to the other.
Lacey told how Charles jokingly said, “It’s not fair, is it? You better ask for your money back.’
The Prince of Wales lovingly shakes hands with Diana during their first joint tour to Australia
The Prince and Princess of Wales greet the crowd during a visit to the Ginger Factory in Yandina, Queensland, in April 1983
The couple visit Cockatoo, Victoria, as large crowds gather to see them
The couple, with Prince William, arrived in Australia in March 1983. During the tour, a well-known Maori agitator admonished the pair
Princess Diana, a ‘little pink hat bobbing along’ with the crowd outside the Sydney Opera House
The trip reportedly even brought the young couple closer together, with Diana often holding Charles’ hand in the car.
Although not everyone at the mass gatherings waved happily at the Prince and Princess of Wales.
One protester, ‘a known Maori agitator’, supported the pair, a confidential document showed.
The report was written by then New Zealand High Commissioner Sir Richard Stratton to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Diana and Charles pose for photos at Ayers Rock (now known as Uluru) in the Northern Territory
The couple visited Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne in April 1983
Charles and Diana stand outside Government House in Canberra, where they meet Prime Minister Bob Hawke and his wife Hazel
It said: ‘The professional, mainly white, demonstrators had little impact. A well-known Maori agitator presented his bald – and hideous! – at the bottom (supposedly the worst Maori insult, but I have my doubts!) to Their Royal Highnesses as they drove into Wellington from the airport.’
The document also included details of Diana’s personal success on the tour and how ‘New Zealanders particularly wanted to see the Princess of Wales, and they did, especially during the numerous ‘walkabouts’.
Sir Richard added: ‘Princess Diana’s dress and homely (in the best, English sense) gestures towards children and Prince Charles’ witty speeches received particular praise.’
Prince William was just ten months old at the time and traveled to Australia and New Zealand with his parents.
The couple stood in a Land Rover at the Hands Oval sports field in Western Australia as Diana accepted gifts from children
Diana holds flowers and talks to well-wishers with Charles as they arrive at RAAF Base Fairbairn in Canberra, Australia
How the Daily Mail covered the tour in 1983
He stayed with a sitter at the Woomargama sheep station in New South Wales and Charles and Diana flew back regularly to be with him.
William even crawled for the first time during the trip and both of his parents were there to witness and enjoy the moment.
The couple’s second son, Prince Harry, was born the following year on September 15, 1984 in the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London.