But with 10,000 Queenslanders chanting the name 'Kate', there was no mistaking who the people who had lined South Bank from 5am had come to see.

Not that the Duke didn't have his fans, but the man, who if current constitutional arrangement stay in place, will one day be king of Australia, was clearly overshadowed by his Duchess.

“William came over to say hello and it was very nice, but I was trying to get Kate's attention,” 18-year-old Mackenzie Jones said.

“He was lovely and it was nice to meet one of them, but if I was honest, I would rather have spoken to the princess.”

Julie Pon and her best friend Chloe Smith, both 22, were among the chosen who “got close to Kate”.

“We gave her some Tim Tams, a five pack, and I said to her 'I got you a present, you might want to dip that in Milo for a slam',” Ms Pon said.

“And she said 'I'm going to need that later'. It was amazing. She is so beautiful. She's amazing on screen, but in person, she's like a million out of 100.”

Marguerite Jones, a self-proclaimed monarchist who came to see the Queen at South Bank in 2011, said she “adored” the new generation.

“The tradition, it's lovely. I have followed the royals for a very, very long time. I'm sorry Australia, I'm a monarchist. And I don't think I'm alone.”

William and Kate touched down in Queensland at RAAF Amberley about 11am, where they toured the facilities and met with defence force personnel.

Their only public appearance was at South Bank after an official reception at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

A group of Aboriginal protestors, with banners including slogans such as “Give Back What You Stole”, were moved on about an hour before the royal couple arrived.

Earlier, at Amberley, the royal couple were greeted with a full military band, an honour guard and an F/A-18F Super Hornet formation overhead.

While at the military base, they planted a tree in the memorial garden as a tribute to the fallen.

The royal couple solemnly bowed their heads while a prayer was read out and four Super Hornet jets flew over in formation.

Afterwards, they met with veterans, their families and the families of the fallen in the base mess hall.

“He made comment about the good weather we're having here and how they're off to Canberra this week and he's not looking forward to the colder weather down there,” said Warrant Officer Peter Gwyther, who along with his wife Leanne managed to meet with William at the reception.

“He said he was sorry he couldn't stay here longer.”

Mrs Gwyther said the prince was very “down to earth”.

“He was a real family man. He was really interested in what the wives and the children were up to while their other halves are overseas, so it was very good,” she said.

The Chief of the Defence Force, General David Hurley, said it was a special occasion for RAAF Amberley.

“They were a lovely young couple, very pleasant, and as you can see today they were very keen to give up a lot of their time to talk to families and children,” he said.

“I think everyone had a very special day.”