With each of her moves being scrutinised by cafe critics, citizen journos, and not forgetting you and me, Kate will ultimately define the '10s with a commonplace charm and understatement - both traits very much in keeping with a more austere British social and economic vibe.

Not one for big-ticket designer labels, a honeymoon wardrobe shopping trip came in under a cool $500. Yes, she is the pretty pal you'd be happy to sit with, to have a drink and a good laugh.

If Princess Margaret personified the sexy '60s and Diana shone in the excessive '80s, Kate will stamp this decade with a more modest and unpretentious demeanour.

Even in the lead-up to the wedding, Kate has overhauled the perception of a modern-day princess-to-be. She has studied; has held down a job as a fashion buyer; dumped then returned to her fiance; and, god forbid, lived with her boyfriend. OK, in a very smart and very big house.

With a whole generation of girls out there who grew up without Grace, Margaret, Diana or Fergie, social media devotees will see this slightly fractured fairytale unfold to its grand finale on Friday via YouTube, on Twitter, on every TV screen or on one of a zillion media apps that are clogging cyberspace.

It may have been way back in the '60s that Grace Kelly fused Hollywood and royalty to become the Euro princess, but her place on the royal radar did reignite the public's love affair with all things regal.

Designer Alex Perry says: ''The admiration for the Princess Grace look and her style is still high on the list of 'I want to look like her' and it is extraordinary that of all the 'princesses', she is still the one who is so wildly imitated.''

But it was Margaret, the Queen's younger sister, who went on to define the life of a jet-set princess; her affairs and seemingly avant-garde taste meant she was constantly dogged by controversy. The perfect fit for those '70s.

Margaret was a wild princess in wild times, often snapped with ciggie in one hand and drink in the other. She somehow managed to liven up the British royals while maintaining an air of dignity. Her scandals, particularly a mega love life (including alleged affairs with Mick Jagger and David Niven), would have been media gold if documented by today's tweeters and omnipresent paps. That she couldn't marry the man she truly loved, Group Captain Peter Townsend, has made her appeal greater, even after her death in 2002.

Of course, the princess whose legacy still resonates is Diana. A pop culture icon, she redefined, if not redeemed, the princess lifestyle in the '80s. In doing that she was a true contradiction, stylish and poised on one hand but dogged by personal and emotional insecurities on the other. Her complexities intrigued some and irritated others; her ''single'' life became continual fodder for the burgeoning multimedia platforms of the era, until her death in 1997 after a car crash in Paris.

It was while Diana was showing her humanitarian side that Sarah Ferguson brought a shade of blush to the face of the British royal family amid the grungy '90s. The Duchess of York's refreshing boldness and brashness gave the Firm a reality check, too. The infamous toe-sucking encounter with John Bryan betrayed the media's insatiable thirst for royal scandal.

Then came the noughties and the idea of royalty went back to niceties … and to home soil. We embraced Mary Donaldson, the Tasmanian commoner who, quite simply, ''picked up'' at the Slip Inn in Sydney. The now mother of four gave wannabe princessess hope: ''It could have been me!''

Princess Mary's evolving sleek, safe and classic style has been nothing less than spectacular.

But what about Kate, the future princess? Imagining the sartorial pressures on her now, most commentators, including me, are impressed by how well she has held herself amid all this hoopla. Kate's normalcy has broadened her appeal.

Having learnt from noting royal mistakes, at least she and her husband-to-be are trying to usher in the modern age by marrying for love, living together and waiting for eight years to wander down the abbey aisle. Let's hope that caution survives the rigours of royal life.How to navigate the nuptials

Die-hard royalists

www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalChannel

www.officialroyalwedding2011.org

Republicans

The Chaser Royal Wedding Commentary - ABC2, from 7pm Friday

Gossip

www.youtube.com/user/royalweddingchannel

Twitter

@royalwedding

@BritishMonarchy

@ClarenceHouse

@BBCRoyalWedding

@ITNroyalwedding

Live coverage

Channels Two, Seven, Nine and Ten are all broadcasting live www.smh.com.au will provide a video stream

Highlights only

10.45pm Friday, The Royal Wedding:Highlights, Channel Seven

The Sun-Herald royal wedding souvenir edition will have pictures and commentary from London, featuring

Kathy Lette, Guy Rundle, Paola Totaro, Stephanie Bunbury, Maggie Alderson and Melissa Hoyer.