DON'T TASMANIAN SCHOOLKIDS STUDY HAMLET AS A SET TEXT? Well, there is now at least one country in the world whose monarch will be an Australian. Admittedly she couldn't become Queen of Denmark while remaining an Australian citizen, but here down under we can understand that. After all, you can't be Queen of Australia either if you're an Australian citizen. The strangest thing about this situation is that the side who think that's a good arrangement are also the most vehement in claiming that our laws should be based on the Bible. (The second-strangest thing about it is that I heard this argument repeated, during the 1999 Republic referendum campaign, by Margaret Court -- yes, the tennis player, now a Pentecostal pastor. Yea, not the least jot or tittle shall pass away, etc etc.)

Interesting item in The Australian on Monday 17 May (p 9): "The Copenhagen Post surveys Danish children’s views on Princess Mary": One tyke said: "When Mary and Frederik get married, Mary will turn into a pregnant lady". Marriage first, then pregnancy? Maybe there's hope for the Scandinavians yet.

It's a neat reversal. 2003 was the year when we saw a man from Denmark travel to a small island in the southern hemisphere to be crowned. Now 2004 is the year when we see a woman from a small island in the southern hemisphere travel to Denmark to be crowned. Karmic balance maintained.

UPDATE: Josh the Fearsome Pirate will be pleased: Mary has converted from Presbyterianism to the Evangelical Lutheran state church of Denmark. (Although this report here from the Copenhagen Post says she wasn't legally required to.) One imagines many sleepless nights of soul-wrestling: "Hmmmm... marrying a prince and having a royal wedding... But then, Jesus did say 'This is my body!'.... Choices, choices..."