On their first Christmas in Australia since 2011, the Princess of Denmark, Prince Frederik and their four children popped in for a sweet treat, much to the delight of the many star-struck WA customers.
“They just wondered in like normal, everyday people,” Karen, of the Margaret River Chocolate Company, tells news website Perth Now.
“They went to the cafe and got a coffee and then sat out on the veranda.
“The children had some of the lovely tastings we had, and Princess Mary, before she left, bought some of our rocky road.”
Karen says the children also had a lovely time playing chasey, “having a good kid time” on the grassed area adjacent to the outside dining area.
“The place was abuzz with people whispering,” she says.
“She was (acting) just like any other customer.
“A few people walked past and said hello, and being as polite as she is, she replied with ‘hello’.”
Lining up just like any other mother with her kids in tow, Princess Mary looked casual, and could have easily passed as any normal customer — if it weren’t for the royal family’s bodyguards.
The Danish royals had their four children Prince Christian, 10, Princess Isabella, 8, and four-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine were in the area while visiting Mary’s Perth-based brother John Donaldson and his wife Leanne.
They will then make their way to Tasmania where they are scheduled to celebrate the festive season with Mary’s family there.
Down-to-earth Mary and her family are clearly loving the change in scenery, and formality, from snow-covered Copenhagen at this time of the year.
They’ve also been spotted at a local bakery, wine-tasting and making supermarket pitstops in WA.
Bakery employee Julia Meldrum says the pair were “lovely and easygoing” with Crown Prince Frederik even happy to be in a selfie with fellow employee Deb Grey.
Julia also served Princess Mary and her brother at her other South West workplace — Killerby Vineyards.
“They were just laid-back and enjoying their holiday,” she says.
On Friday morning in the Great Southern town of Gnowangerup, the family of six appeared to be like any other family making a supermarket stop for supplies and some treats for the kids.
The royal visit to an IGA in Gnowangerup — 365km south east of Perth, population 1300 — is still the talk of the town.
Owner John Rigg says the royals stopped in to buy some nibbles and a couple packets of bubblegum for the kids.
“They wandered around for about 15 minutes and then left. They were pretty incognito, they were just like a normal, everyday couple with four kids,” he says.
“By the time they got recognised was the time they got going. As they drove off she was driving, with hubby in the passenger seat and the kids in the back.”
