The Duchess of York returned to London today after six weeks in Australia, carrying a toy koala bear as a present for the 12-week-old baby girl she left behind in Britain. The 29-year-old duchess arrived at London's Heathrow Airport with a white fluffy toy bear under her arm. She smiled at waiting photographers but said nothing before she got into her Jaguar car and took the wheel to drive into London. The baby, Princess Beatrice, stayed in Britain with a nanny while the duchess, the former Sarah Ferguson, was in Australia with her husband, Prince Andrew, second oldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. Andrew, 28, a Royal Navy helicopter pilot, will remain with his ship, the guided-missile destroyer HMS Edinburgh, and is not expected back in Britain until Dec. 16. The couple had a narrow escape from serious injury Wednesday in Fremantle, western Australia, when a steel cable securing the Edinburgh to the dock snapped as they were saying goodbye. The duchess _ on the dock chatting with Andrew, who was on the lower deck of the ship _ was whisked to safety by a security man who saw the cable about to snap less than three yards from where she stood. Andrew and other crew members ducked for cover as the cable lashed back like a whip and smashed into the ship's hull. The duchess flew from Britain to Australia on Sept. 21 on her own and met up with Andrew there for the couple's 10-day official tour to help celebrate Australia's bicentennial. When Andrew returned to his ship, the duchess extended her stay in Australia to have more time with him, traveling from port to port to meet his ship. She also visited relatives in Australia and the British domestic news agency Press Association said she comforted her elder sister Jane over the reported breakup of her marriage with Australian farmer Alex Makim. British tabloids criticized the duchess for spending so much time away from her baby, who was born on Aug. 8. The duchess and Andrew shrugged off the criticism and Buckingham Palace, as is customary, refused to comment on the issue.
