Charles & Camilla: Tour of Australia, New Zealand & Papua New Guinea - November 2012


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How lovely Tom! It was so kind of you to relay the recollections of your morning.

I'm not surprised Charles was chuffed by mentions of Dumfries House, in particular. It really has been a labour of love for him. If not a stressful one. And I like that Charles wore his lapel pin of a Knight of the Order of Australia. Nice touch!

Charles seems to really enjoy connecting with people, even though he only ever has a matter of moments to do so. One can tell that it's important to him that he should acknowledge and engage.

What a wonderful morning for all those present. And Bert is adorable!!
 
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Thanks for that report, Tom. I'm glad you and Bert had a good time and got to talk to HRH. I know what you mean about not having your camera with you; you are able to relax and take it all in and remember more than if you are trying to capture the image.

I cringed over the "Prince and Princess" thing. That bloke looked as though he might make a blunder, and he didn't disappoint me. It looked as though Camilla and Charles were both charming with their comments though.
 
Wow, is it really that bad? Its hard to believe that a little heat could cause someone to cancel appointments. Im not trying to be mean but its not like you are in the sinai desert. Maybe Im not quite understanding this, the Duchess is going to cancel engagements because she cant handle heat? Really? Are we sure it is that or could it be she just does not want to do it? Are people that sensitive to heat? I quess I just dont understand it. She can use parosols, maybe drink cold water and Im sure the car tney are in has air conditioning. Im just saying. Am I wrong? What is she going to do when she becomes Queen and has a schedule like the Queen has? The Queen was Camillas age once upon a time and Im sure she was a little uncomfortable and hot in some of the places she visited but I highly doubt she ever complained or put up a fuss. And if she did she kept it to herself. But being that she had to do what she had to, she forged on. I just think Camilla is being a tad silly. She might as well get used to it now.

In answer to your question, yes, it can affect people that much and I know first hand, since I'm one of them. I can't handle humidity at all anymore and I ended up having to miss out on an Annual Family get together back during the August long weekend here in Canada thanks to it. Since heatstroke is a very real concern due to humidity sensitivity, which I ended up having a mild case of two years ago thanks to the extreme humidity we now have in the Summer, it is NOT at all silly and I actually find your comments a bit offensive. Not to mention lacking in understanding.

Moving on...

Camilla looks wonderful so far in the pictures of this tour that I've seen so far. *Love* the choker she wore to the races today. Gorgeous!!

I have to admit being *very* green w/envy of Charles' upcoming visit to WETA Workshop and his sneak peek of The Hobbit. Huge LOTR fan and I've attended a couple of conventions over the years that were a blast.

Sigh...So envious of HRH's upcoming visit to Middle Earth.
 
Camilla looks wonderful so far in the pictures of this tour that I've seen so far. *Love* the choker she wore to the races today. Gorgeous!!
Agreed. She looks glowing and really happy.

I have to admit being *very* green w/envy of Charles' upcoming visit to WETA Workshop and his sneak peek of The Hobbit. Huge LOTR fan and I've attended a couple of conventions over the years that were a blast.

Sigh...So envious of HRH's upcoming visit to Middle Earth.
You and me both! To be where The Hobbit is actually being shot, to experience all of Tolkien's magic first-hand... :dragon:
Darn, I'm totally envious too. :verysad:
 
I looked it up and it was indeed the Japan/Brunei/Indonesia tour that camilla pulled out of the royal tour cancelling the remainder of her engagements because the weather was too hot for her. We had a lively discussion about it in the thread dedicated to that tour. Here are 2 articles on it www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1071869/Camilla-cut-short-royal-tour-Asia-Prince-Charles-complaining-hot.html

www.topix.com/forum/world/indonesia/TVDLBLD7PT202E8QN

So let's hope she can soldier on this time.

Just to be clear, it was announced in advance of the tour that Camilla would not be visiting Indonesia, but only Japan and Brunei. She did not pull out mid-way through the tour, or change her plans subsequently. The Daily Mail used to be very negative about Charles & Camilla in those days, and never missed an opportunity to put a negative spin on a royal tory, though they seem to have cionsiderably softened their postion in recent years.
 
The winning recipient, having just been presented with the cup from HRH the Duchess of Cornwall, took to the microphone and of course started his speech with 'Your Royal Highnesses' and proceeded to say 'the Prince and Princess..' before hastily rephrasing himself. Of course technically he would have been correct in addressing them both as the Prince and Princess of Wales, though because Charles' subsidary title of Cornwall is officially used by Camilla as her principal designation, I think that particular gentleman averted the prospect of unforeseen embarrassment for the Duchess, in particular.


Personally I was hoping he would continue. It would have truly made my day having early heard Phillip Treacy say that it was an honour to dress "the future Queen of England".
Its about time all this nonsense was put aside. Camilla IS the Princess of Wales and she will be Queen when the time comes. :flowers:
 
:previous: I for one was glad he corrected himself for the sake of avoiding the highly unecessary re-emergence of comparisons between Camilla and her predecessor which the media would have certainly pursued.
 
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I have just had an interesting discussion with my brother who was at Flemington today. He had the chance to speak to Camilla for about 2 minutes and said she was absolutely charming (and he is a staunch republican). He said that she was friendly and interested in everything and everyone. He said that she moved amongst the people with total ease and no airs or graces.
 
Yes, I think you are right Madame Royale. When it was announced that they were attending the Melbourne Cup I feared there would be comparisons to the late Diana, Princess of Wales in 1985. Nothing of the sort has happened, but a major gaffe might have changed the tone of the afternoon. All the news reports I watched tonight were very positive about the Prince and the Duchess, which was really good to see.

By the way, I loved the speech given by Mr Wong after receiving the Diamond Jubilee Plate from the Prince of Wales. It sounded like a dodgy google translation from English to Chinese and back to English. By the time he finished listing all the official guests by their full styles and titles, and admirably tackled some difficult names for a speaker of Cantonese (Cornwall, Chernov and Baillieu), all he had time for was a hearty thank you. He also looked very dapper in his top hat!
 
You and me both! To be where The Hobbit is actually being shot, to experience all of Tolkien's magic first-hand... :dragon:
Darn, I'm totally envious too. :verysad:

Same here. I was in NZ a few years ago and visited the WETA cave and I couldn't stop walking around the country thinking "here's where it all happened" but to visit the studio's??? *sigh* It's a pitty lack of funds prevent me from being in NZ during the premiere...
 
I found the speech by Mr Wong quite amusing. Nearly a minute spent mentioning all the dignitaries and only a few seconds to express his thanks! :D
 
TomBert - thanks for this lovely account! Please give Bert all the best from my cat, Gus who right now is trying to pick a fight with my other cat, Izzy. They do steal the show!

I loved the matching cup pins the Prince and Duchess were wearing. So cute! They really are a good match. :)
 
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I was seated next to a newlywed couplefrom Britain on a flight back from Adelaide a few years ago and they were saying just how big they didn't realise Australia was until they found themselves flying over it. They knew it was big, but not that big! The gentleman in particular kept leaning across my lap (with his wife's permission!) to look at the country below. He was in awe of the sheer size of this country and it was a particularly hot summer as well. He really couldn't get his head around that for a country so big, there are only five states and two territories and that it takes days by car to reach some state borders.

Madame, your post brought back a memory from my primary school days. I remember I was about 8 or 9 at the time and during our geography class we had to work out how many times tiny Northern Ireland would fit into Australia (don't ask me what the answer was, I can't remember!). Around the same time, my aunt travelled to Adelaide to visit some relatives who had emigrated. She brought us back a little koala Christmas ornament who still has pride of place on our Christmas tree almost 20 years later.

Tiggersk8 said:
In answer to your question, yes, it can affect people that much and I know first hand, since I'm one of them. I can't handle humidity at all anymore and I ended up having to miss out on an Annual Family get together back during the August long weekend here in Canada thanks to it. Since heatstroke is a very real concern due to humidity sensitivity, which I ended up having a mild case of two years ago thanks to the extreme humidity we now have in the Summer, it is NOT at all silly and I actually find your comments a bit offensive. Not to mention lacking in understanding.

Like you, Tigger, I have suffered occasionally with heat stroke, even though it generally doesn't bother me. I'm afraid I was visiting a tropical garden in the Canary Islands when I was about 14, and to cut a long story short, I'm afraid my heat stroke was so bad that I brought up everything I'd eaten for breakfast all over a rather rare orchid. Needless to say my parents were quick to leave as soon as possible.

I've also been on a guided tour of Egypt and the heat in Cairo was so unbearable that some of my fellow tourists refused to leave the air-conditioned bus.

Glad to see that all seems to be going well during this tour. I'm sure Camilla was thrilled to be at the Melbourne Cup.
 
Someone mentioned in the one of the Forums that it is becoming clear that Camilla, DOC has a real touch with animals. Well, I want to observe that Charles seems to have become more fun around children over the years since he has wed Camilla. He smiles more than he used to around children and seems to "get" them more than he used to. My avatar is one example and here is another form today's cricket experience in Melbourne:
http://cache1.asset-cache.net/gc/15...HLGHHym9pGjn9SFd8dyxbWpewJDrDtAXmSSdjJnTdcw==
 
Nico, you might want to check those links to the last two videos. The first one played fine for me, but the next two? I got a "Safari can not open the link" and then a long line of code after that. I'm on a Mac book, but I can't think that's the reason, although I know sometimes that can be.

Anyway, just letting you know.

TomBert...Thanks for sharing your experiences yesterday w/all of us and Bert is certainly a very adorable dog. Give him a scratch behind the ears for me please? :D

EIIR...Yikes!! Not the place at all for something like that to happen at. Did your Parents set a new speed record for leaving a Garden area after that? I can't imagine how horrible you had to feel about that happening.

Any new pictures from today's engagements?
 
Bert rocks

I love the description of Bert's great adventure :flowers:
 
EIIR...Yikes!! Not the place at all for something like that to happen at. Did your Parents set a new speed record for leaving a Garden area after that? I can't imagine how horrible you had to feel about that happening.

My parents were pretty mortified to say the least. What made it so annoying is that I'd sat in one of the park's bathrooms for about 20 minutes, feeling nauseated and reluctant to continue our visit in case the worst happened. Needless to say I wasn't sick in the bathroom but within about 2 mins of leaving it I was reacquainted with my breakfast.

Happily, none of the staff witnessed my humiliation, although a large group of German tourists did.
 
The Prince and Princess of Wales look like they're having a fabulous time on their tour. Charles is always smiling and Camilla is handling her first tour of Australia like a true professional. The crowds have been encouraging.
 
Bert and I have just got back from seeing the Prince and Duchess. The Duchess took a shine to Bert and stopped for a chat and pat. We are both a bit exhausted, so a full report will have to wait until we have had a bit of an afternoon nap.
 
So glad that your time and efforts paid off for you Tom. What a memorable few days you and Bert have experienced. Very deserving!
 
Bert and I have just got back from seeing the Prince and Duchess. The Duchess took a shine to Bert and stopped for a chat and pat. We are both a bit exhausted, so a full report will have to wait until we have had a bit of an afternoon nap.
You two are the best! Happy nappies.
 
Bert and I have just got back from seeing the Prince and Duchess. The Duchess took a shine to Bert and stopped for a chat and pat. We are both a bit exhausted, so a full report will have to wait until we have had a bit of an afternoon nap.

I was thinking while I was reading the previous Adventures of Tom and Bert when you met the PoW, that if Camilla had been there, you'd have to keep a tight leash on Bert or he'd possibly be dogknapped and whisked off to Highgrove as Camilla is quite fond of animals especially cute dogs like Bert is. I'm anxiously awaiting the continuation of the saga!
 
Congrats on the both of you meeting Camilla. Can't wait to read the next instalment of your Adventures!! :D
 
We are feeling a bit more refreshed now. Well, I am at least; Bert has gone straight back to sleep after having his supper. So here is my diary entry for today's big day. This time there are even a couple of photos.

After the success of meeting the Prince of Wales yesterday, I was not getting my hopes up for an equally fortunate day today. I was also very tired this morning (Bert was so exhausted from yesterday that he snored loud enough to wake the dead for most of the night). But after a quick breakfast we were ready to head back into town. We got on the train, which was packed with people on their way to work. Bert sat quietly at my feet; he's an old hand at train travel. We got to the National Gallery of Victoria just before 9:00 am with plenty of time to spare. The Premier's press release said the Duchess was accompanying the Prince to his engagement at the National Gallery, even though she was due to host a reception at Government House for Osteoporosis Australia. A member of Victoria Police confirmed that the Duchess was not accompanying the Prince. Nearby a member of the royal party heard my question and came over and told me that the Duchess was not going to join the Prince on his next engagement either; a visit to the Victoria College of the Arts Secondary School. I told her that I was a bit frustrated at the lack of information about the royal couple's itinerary. She agreed and said she did not know why things were so disorganised.

As we had nearly an hour to fill in, I took Bert for a walk through the nearby gardens. We started at the Alexandra Gardens, cut through the Queen Victoria Gardens and ended up in King's Domain. On the way we passed the very impressive statues of King Edward VII and King George V. We even met another French Bulldog. His name was Gary and he could have been Bert's twin. At the gates of Government House I could see the Prince of Wales standard flying at the gate. Over Government House itself, however, the Governor of Victoria's standard was flying (well, it was actually hanging very limply in the listless breeze, but that does not sound very impressive). The Prince of Wales may be the future King of Australia, but the Governor of Victoria still outranks him when it comes who gets the main flagpole. Soon we were back at the National Gallery of Victoria. I remembered other royal visitors I had seen here over the years. In 1987 there was Queen Margrethe II, Prince Henrik and Prince Joachim of Denmark. Then in 2005 Crown Princess Victoria paid a visit (I wanted to say "welcome to the National Gallery of Victoria, Victoria, Victoria", but settled instead on a simple "welcome to Melbourne Your Royal Highness.")

A small crowd had assembled, including a group of members of the British Parachute Regiment who now live in Australia. The Prince is their Colonel-In-Chief and he asked to see them. Also, a large group a school children was hijacked from their visit to the gallery to join the waiting crowd. Promptly at 10:00am the Prince of Wales arrived. Bert and I stood up the back to enjoy the atmosphere and watch him interact with the crowd, and, after remembering my phone, I even took a couple of photos. The Prince went into the gallery and the crowd began to disperse. I happened to walk past the member of the royal party I had spoken to earlier. She told me it was definite that the Duchess of Cornwall was not going to join the Prince at the school. I was very disappointed by this, but given their poor track record with accurate information, I decided to still go to the school and see what happened. I am very pleased that I did.

It took about ten minutes to walk to the school, and when we arrived there were only about ten people waiting. A very friendly Acting Sergeant came over to see what we were up to. I asked him if the Duchess was coming to the school with the Prince, "which Duchess?" he asked with a grin. "Yes", he confirmed, the Duchess was expected with the Prince. He then told us that "Royal Protocol" dictated that we could not take photos or talk to the royal couple. I think my somewhat incredulous expression surprised him, so he went off to confirm this odd regulation. He was back very quickly and told us to ignore what he had just said. Outside the school there was a troupe of drummers ready to beat a welcome to the royal couple, the media was all lined up, and about a dozen or so people, mainly from nearby offices, waited for the big moment. In a flash they arrived. The Duchess of Cornwall was most definitely in the car so I relaxed and got ready to enjoy the arrival. But, no; an Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer decided then to ask about Bert (calling him Killer). By the time we finished chatting the Prince and Duchess were inside the school. Never mind, I thought, there was still a chance of meeting them as they left.

The Prince and Duchess spent about an hour in the school, but soon enough signs of activity indicated that they were about to depart. We were allowed to move out onto road and get closer to the car (by now the crowd had swelled to about twenty people). The Duchess came out first and headed straight for the car. For a brief disappointing second it seemed they were going to make a hasty departure for the airport (their next stop was Adelaide). But a few people in the crowd started yelling CAMILLA and, after a moment's hesitation, the Duchess headed over to say hello, followed close behind by the Prince. The media began to press in and I was again worried that the Duchess would not make it down to where Bert and I were waiting. So I picked up Bert, who seemed a bit surprised, and hoped for the best. Another AFP officer told me to stand back, but seemed content for Bert to be held up. Almost immediately the Duchess spotted Bert and came over to see him. She said hello to me, and shook my hand. I said "Hello, Your Royal Highness", but it was Bert who had her attention. "This is Bert" I told her. "Hello Bertie" she said as told her his name is Bert, and the Duchess patted him on the head and said "hello Bertie". She then told me that she used to have a Boston Terrier, and then went back to tickle Bert under his chin. I explained to her that Bert had met the Prince yesterday, but he really wanted to meet her. She seemed pleased and started to move on. At this point Bert started to get fidgety (he does not like be held) and with a quick twist he wormed himself free and dropped to the ground with a thud: right at the feet of the Prince of Wales (completely unhurt; he may be 15 kilos but he bounces like a ball). The Prince looked surprised and said "what was that?", he then glanced up and saw me. "Just us again", I told him, "Bert wanted to come and see the Duchess". He laughed a little and moved on. I don't think the Prince is, at heart, as much of a dog person as the Duchess obviously is. The royal couple got into their car, and with a final wave from both the Prince and Duchess, they departed for the airport.

Then the real madness broke out. Bert and I were swamped by reporters and photographers, all wanting to know his name and breed. There was a TV interview (which, thankfully, did not make it to the evening news) and a press interview (which did make it online). I was a bit worried that all the attention might go to his head, but Bert coped well. Finally, after our very busy morning, we were able to head for home. Bert has been sound asleep for several hours now, snoring deeply. He was dreaming about ten minutes ago, no doubt about his royal encounters, and his new-best-friend-forever, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.

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The Prince of Wales at the National Gallery of Victoria

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Bert gets ready to make his move

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Is it rude to poke your tongue out at the future Queen of Australia?

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Bert & Camilla - BFF

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Exhausted
 
What happened while I was having a nap? Was my true identity revealed? Oh no, is the secret out? Never mind. No matter, I do not mind. When I joined this forum I noticed most people seemed to use an alias, so I thought I would try one out as well, that's all.
 
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If you're fine with it then that's what matters, 'Tom'. But it was up to you as to whether or not your identity should have been made known on this forum and thats why I suggested that a member perhaps ask you privately as opposed to publically. It's your image afterall and you're entitled to the right to privacy, as are we all :)
Is it rude to poke your tongue out at the future Queen of Australia?

Maybe if there was to be a future Queen of Australia, but as there isn't I see no problem in Bert poking his tongue out at a future reigning European consort..haha.

You paint a picture very well with words and your humour is frightfully amusing.
...he may be 15 kilos but he bounces like a ball

Priceless!..lol.
 
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Thanks so much for taking us on personal tour to meet Charles and Camilla. Reading through the Adventures of Tom and Bert, it really made me feel as if I was right there along with you two and that is so much more than I could ever get from media coverage. Bert really is the star of the show isn't he? One thing I can bet my last doughnut on is that you both will be remembered by them both.
 
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