Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip Arrive in Australia, Visit Canberra

Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh arrived in Australia yesterday, beginning their eleven-day official visit. The royal couple arrived in the nation’s capital, Canberra, yesterday afternoon.

The Queen and The Duke were greeted at Canberra’s RAAF Fairbairn Base by Governor-General Quentin Bryce and Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The Australian Federation Guard military band played God Save The Queen, while a 21-gun salute sounded a short distance away. Wearing a turquoise outfit and hat, the Queen was also greeted by a large group of schoolchildren, who came bearing flowers and stuffed toys for the eighty-five year old monarch. Prince Philip joked with the children about their “escape from school”. The royal couple spent the night at Government House.

Earlier today, the visit’s official schedule began, with Queen Elizabeth holding an audience with the Governor-General in the morning; before she and Prince Philip boarded Admiral’s Barge for a trip across Lake Burley Griffin in the afternoon. They then visited the Floriade Flower Festival, which officially closed its doors to the public this past Sunday. When the organisations learnt the Queen was coming mere days after show closed, it was declared that one more day couldn’t hurt (just don’t ask the approximate 100,000 tulips which were de-bulbed because they were below standard).

In the late afternoon, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip – the Queen in her second change for the day (from a lavender dress, coat and hat to a pink jacket and green floral skirt) – inspected the gardens of Government House, before the Queen planted a tree in the gardens to mark the couple’s sixteenth visit to Australia.

Read more about the Queen and Prince Philip’s visit to Australia here.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Australia, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Flower Show, Governor-General Bryce of Australia, Official Visit, Prime Minister Gillard of Australia, The Duke of Edinburgh.

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