The presence of King Charles and Queen Camilla in Canberra this week sent the mature-age mind foxtrotting back to 1983 when Charles visited Canberra with his then consort, the tragic Princess Diana.

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We know now that Camilla was there too in Canberra with Charles and Diana in 1983, not in the flesh of course, but palely, ectoplasmically lurking there, a phantom presence on both of their minds.

As a reporter covering the 1983 visit for The Canberra Times (lightly tinting the facts with the pastel shades of journalistic colour I was well paid to impart to things) I knew nothing of Camilla. Years later though there came Dianas famous rueful recollection of how There were three of us in that marriage, so it was a bit crowded.

The young (ish) Ian of 1983 didnt know (what we all know now) that Charles and Camilla began to be romantically involved in 1972, that the flame of their passion was never extinguished, that on the Charles and Diana honeymoon in 1981 Diana was dismayed that Charles wore cufflinks Camilla had given him and was carrying a photograph of Camilla in his diary.

Nostalgically looking this week at online portfolios of photographs of the 1983 tour I was reminded of how Diana was several times captured with a forlorn facial expression. I remember seeing that face but know I never used my journalistic pastels to report-comment on it. Reporters all felt under a kind of obligation to report the royal couples visit as an episode of ecstasy in the history of our loyal, royalist city. It was ever thus. This Tuesdays Canberra Times coverage of the previous days royal appearances was dutifully joyful.

We now know that Dianas photo-captured moments of........

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