Having graduated from his Helicopter Flying School at long last, Prince William is taking a little break from his endless military training (which he will never use). Instead of jetting off to some tropical island with his longtime (and long-suffering) girlfriend Kate “Waity Katy” Middleton, Will set off for a formal royal visit to New Zealand and Australia, where it seems he’s gotten a rather lovely reception. He’s been participating in ceremonies, posing for photos, kissing babies and just generally being the sweet, emotionally intelligent young man many of us were hoping he would turn out to be. I’ve put in lots of photos from his trip below – they are some wonderful photos of him gamely greeting various Maori tribesmen in the traditional fashion, by touching noses. Lovely.

Anyway, poor Waity Katy. William was asked when (not if) he was getting married. To which he replied, “As I keep saying, ‘wait and see.’” As in, “Every time someone asks me that, I make Kate wait another six months.” Middleton is probably crying right now.

For many people following the romantic progress of Prince William around the world, it is a question begging to be asked: “When are you getting married?”

On Tuesday, an elderly aboriginal woman called out exactly that while the prince was visiting a community center in Sydney, Australia. His answer? “As I keep saying,” he said, “wait and see.”

William, who has been dating Kate Middleton, 28, on-and-off for more than seven years, was on his first day of a visit to Australia following three days in New Zealand.

Last week, Middleton supported her longtime beau by attending his graduation from the Defence Helicopter Flying School at Royal Air Force Shawbury. During the ceremony, she rose to her feet to applaud as William took his place among the honorees.

Remembering Princess Diana
Another woman close to William’s, and the crowds’ hearts, outside the Redfern Community Centre, was Princess Diana. William spent a few precious moments talking to a grandmother in the 1,000-strong crowd who showed him a photograph of her daughter and granddaughter meeting his late mother Diana.

Later, William read a story to some youngsters, played a bowling game on a Wii system and showed his skills at ping-pong.

The British royal has gotten a warm welcome in Australia. The Daily Telegraph splashed its front page with a picture of a laughing prince reading to the youngsters in the community center with the headline, “King of the Kids.”

Earlier, in the day he’d been welcomed to a small outside stage by the sound of a didgeridoo and a man burning some cleansing eucalyptus leaves on a bark tray. A dance troup performed an act called ‘Welcome and Farewell’ from the Wakka Wakka area of south Queensland.

“Welcome to aboriginal land, one of 29 that make up the Ora nation,” Charles ‘Chikka’ Madden told the prince. “I’d like to thank Prince William for coming to the block today for this great occasion with our aboriginal brothers and sisters and non-aboriginal brothers and sisters. The block has produced a lot of positive things for Redfern. Redfern’s not a bad place that people make it out to be. ”

Aides say that William was keen to see the work that is done there as it tries to improve the lives of young people – something that mirrors charities he supports in the U.K.

[From People]

I really, really hope that Prince William ends up being more like his mother than his father, but the signs aren’t there. Yes, he has “the common touch” – he’s able to at least feign pleasure during the parts of his royal duties that include speaking with “commoners”. But I suspect the real William has grown up to be a lot like his dad – wishy-washy, indecisive, and reticent, with a vein of arrogance. I hope I’m wrong, I really do. I want to believe that William really is a great guy.

Prince William on his royal trip to Australia and New Zealand. In Sydney, on January 19, 2010. Credit: Robert Wallace/ WENN. In Wellington, New Zealand on January 18, 2010. Credit: Peter MacDonald/WENN