Sovereign Hill printer Peter Gilbert proudly has a copy on his wall of the poster he presented to the married couple, Their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales. Nearby are framed photos of Mr Gilbert standing with the couple on their visit to Ballarat 40 years ago today.

Mr Gilbert was one, among many, who were part of the nerves and hype in showcasing Ballarat to the world in a historic visit from a British heir to the throne and his young, blushing bride.

Less than one month out from King Charles III's coronation, Mr Gilbert remembered the absolute grilling he had from seasoned royal correspondents wanting to know his full life story amid the rising fervour in town. Turns out, if there were an incident with Prince Charles or Princess Diana - worst case scenario they were killed - journalists wanted to know every detail about those who met them in their final moments.

That just fuelled Mr Gilbert's nerves.

Then Mr Gilbert met the young couple with the prince immediately putting his nerves at ease, recognising him from an earlier trip to Sovereign Hill, before the open-air museum officially opened, in the prince's days as a schoolboy at Geelong Grammar's Timbertop.

Prince Charles stopped for a yarn, wanting to know more about Mr Gilbert's wife's uncle who had found the Sarah Sands gold nugget in a bottom corner near where Sovereign Hill stands. The uncle had taken the nugget back to England for an audience with Queen Victoria.

"He liked the bit at the bottom of the poster saying God Save the Queen," Mr Gilbert said. "You do go back every now and again and think about it, to have the privilege to be there in front of him ... I was terrified at the time, wondering 'have I got everything right?'.

"I look at him now and see how much he's altered from when he came up here - a young man then, from Timbertop."

A rogue trooper at the time made an impromptu move to play-arrest the couple, just as Mr Gilbert was presenting the poster, but footage from their meeting was beamed back to England where family saw Mr Gilbert on television.

Sovereign Hill's then-chief executive officer Peter Hiscock said the visit was a tightly orchestrated and long-organised process.

Once the six-week royal tour was announced, Sovereign Hill indicated its interest in hosting duties via an office of protocol and "negotiations proceeded from there".

Representatives from Buckingham Palace were sent ahead for a look about the museum, but Mr Gilbert said the process was likely "made a bit easier" because Prince Charles had visited before.

The Queen and Prince Philip also put Sovereign Hill on their agenda for a royal visit in 2000.

"It seemed to me Charles and Diana were very affectionate towards each other then," Mr Hiscock said. "We had lunch for them and invited the head boy and head girl from all the secondary schools in the district. They had a bit of an emphasis on promoting youth."

Sovereign then-board member Doug Sarah remembers the impressive finger food from lunch that set a precedent for the royal couple's future engagements. Mr Sarah said the couple wanted to be able to mingle and talk to people, carrying their lunch on a plate, and they appreciated the Sovereign Hill chef's presentation.

On that day, Mr Sarah had his own slightly prolonged conversation with the future king.

Mr Sarah and Peter Tobin were dressed as Red Coats at the entrance to Sovereign Hill, capturing the prince's attention when he arrived, wanting to know what uniform they wore.

"'Sir, it's yours and your mother's regiment', I told him. 'The 40th Foot Lancashire regiment'," Mr Sarah said. "Then he spent more time with us then he should. Charles was supposed to walk with Diana up the street."

Mr Sarah and Mr Tobin started the Red Coats at Sovereign Hill, dressing up in costume every Saturday and Sunday for about five years and quickly becoming the most photographed people about the museum's streets.

Princess Diana, then-mother to 10-month-old baby Prince William, was the star of his day.

Mr Sarah and Mr Gilbert said the princess was beautiful but shy and seemingly lacking confidence in the visit.

Readers have told The Courier this week of being in the crowds lining Sturt Street or being near Sovereign Hill pressing to catch a glimpse of the royal couple, but particularly wanted to see Princess Diana. Some held flower posies for the princess, only to see her fly past in a car.

Primary school teacher Geoff McArthur was one of the few who did get to see Princess Diana up close in the Bridge Mall.

Mr McArthur was leading a group of about 15 preps from Humffray Street Primary School - then the closest school to the Bridge Mall.

The class had a designated viewing spot outside menswear store Messer and Opie.

When the car carrying Their Royal Highnesses pulled up, Mr McArthur said you could hear the collective sigh from those waiting along the south side of the mall where Prince Charles made his Royal Walkabout. Princess Diana took the north, greeting Mr McArthur's pupils.

"She was doing her best, but she did look exhausted," Mr McArthur said. "My main memory from that day was the anticipation in the mall."

Photos on The Courier front page show crowds with the headline Jam in Mall. Mr McArthur said this was vastly different to what he experienced with his preps.

"It was all controlled," Mr McArthur said. "They knew who was in the mall. Each school was offered a space in front of a shop front and you couldn't send many students ... The middle of the mall was empty."

Still, there were those upstairs on old verandahs in Bridge Street, trying too, to be part of a little royal history.

The Courier's royal day lift-out read that April 15, 1983, "was a day Ballarat will not forget...a day to live in our history...the day of Prince Charles and Princess Diana."

This was not the first time a heir to the British throne has officially visited Ballarat: Prince George of Wales, the Duke of York (later King George V) visited in 1881 and again with his duchess (who became Queen Mary) in 1901; their son, Prince Edward of Wales opened the Arch of Victory in 1920 - before his marriage to American Wallis Simpson; and Ballarat twice had Queen Elizabeth II herself visit with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh (1954 and 2000).

This day was all about the popular young royal couple and "exuberant crowds" in Ballarat as they visited Sovereign Hill and the Bridge Mall.

Their Royal Highnesses arrived by train to excited crowds at Ballarat Train Station on a Friday at 11.58am - almost 20 minutes after the pilot, or "blow up train", swept through for security.

The Courier reporter and self-reported non-royalist Martin Blake likened the pre-arrival buzz to "change rooms before a grand final" and wrote the crowd seemed "awe-struck by their first glance at Prince Charles' wife".

More than 2500 people were also reported to have "crammed" Ballan train platforms, including areas reserved for seven district schools, to wave to the couple as their carriage slowed to pass at 11.26am.

Reports read "the charming couple" waved from an observation platform at the rear of State Car 4 - a carriage which had carried royal visitors eight times.

The train was recorded as on time.

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