The Tasmanian-born Crown Princess of Denmark had seen one of his works in Hobart’s Henry Jones Art Hotel while she was visiting her home state over Christmas last year. She then tracked down his number through the gallery he exhibits in locally, Handmark, and called him to request a commission. 

McWilliams said the Princess was normal and friendly, although she’d acquired a slight Danish accent over her 16 years living in her husband’s country. 

“[The gallery] warned me that she might call, but when she rang it was still a bit of a shock,” he said. 

“I didn’t know whether to say ‘Your Highness’. But we talked about the painting, and she told me what she wanted, and we went from there.”

The work, titled An Uncertain Gathering depicts Tasmanian native animals including the Tasmanian devil, several wallabies, and the extinct Thylacine, along with a fox, standing and facing the viewer in an identifiable Tasmanian natural landscape. It is typical of McWilliams’ works, which often feature animals and landscapes with haunting elements of surrealism. 

After the painting was completed, McWilliams sent it to the Honorary Consul of Denmark in Hobart. It was then packed and shipped to the Danish Embassy in Canberra, who sent it to Copenhagen in time for the Princess to present it to her husband, Crown Prince Frederik, as a gift for his 50^th birthday. 

“And now it’s in the palace somewhere,” McWilliams said. 

“I paint mostly Tasmanian scenes, things near to me that I’m close to and that I enjoy. Her being from Tasmania I guess she wanted to take a little bit of that back and show her family, even though they come here quite a bit.”

McWilliams next exhibition will be at Handmark Gallery, Hobart, from October 5. He also frequently exhibits in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. 

Born in Longford, he has lived outside Launceston at Perth for the past 30 years, where he said he enjoys the quiet, country lifestyle. He lives in a converted coaching house with extensive gardens and a studio out the back, which he shares with his four pugs.  

He is a previous winner of the Glover Prize and has twice won the Waterhouse National History Art Prize. 

Tasmanian Mary Donaldson was working in advertising when she met a man in a Sydney bar during the 2000 Olympics. That man turned out to be the Crown Prince of Denmark, and after a whirlwind long-distance relationship, they were married four years later in a royal wedding.