The Crown has put Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s Royal visit to Australia in 1983 in the spotlight. So what happened?

It was, as Princess Diana’s “long-time confidant” would later recall, a “baptism of fire” for the fledgling royal.

Stepping onto the tarmac at Alice Springs airport, into the throes of eager dignitaries and the voracious media pack, the then-21-year-old was “uneasy, even glum”, staring at the ground “with downcast eyes throughout much of the brief airport picture session”.

Fast forward a month, and the woman once described by reporters as having to “work mightily to produce … the smile of a proud and happy young mother” would have the heart of the nation in her hands, cementing her status as “the people’s princess”.

Prince Charles, Princess Diana and baby William’s debut visit to Australia as a family in March 1983 is now the subject of…