Queen, Duke in 10-Day Australia Visit
Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will arrive in Canberra Wednesday evening for a 10-day visit to the ACT, four cities and three states. A ceremonial welcome has been prepared for the royal couple at the airport.
The Queen will meet Governor-General Quentin Bryce and tour gardens at Floriade, a flower expo, on Thursday. She will meet Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on Friday. Gillard and her partner Tim Mathieson are hosting a reception for her at the Parliament House.
Over the weekend, the royal couple will be in Canberra and take part in a presentation of Colours to the Royal Military College, Duntroon. The Duke of Edinburgh will attend a Commonwealth Study Conference reception in the afternoon.
On Sunday morning, they will worship at St. John's Church and then take lunch hosted by the governor-general. In the lunch will be a group of people, including actor Geoffrey Rush. Rush played a speech therapist's role in the movie "The King's Speech" about the Queen's father, King George VI.
On Monday, the Queen and Duke will travel along the Brisbane River to Southbank and then visit the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. They will attend a reception for emergency response personnel and communities affected by recent floods, a rededication ceremony of Rainforest and opening of Rain Bank, and lunch with the governor of Queensland and other guests.
The royal couple will return to Canberra on Tuesday to visit and lay a wreath at the Australian War Memorial and view the Afghanistan Memorial. This will be followed by a meeting with Australian Defence Force personnel at Orientation Hall.
The Queen and Duke will spend the following day in Melbourne visiting the Royal Children's Hospital, the Ian Potter Centre, National Gallery of Victoria and Federation Square. The governor of Victoria will host a reception for them at the government house.
On Oct. 27, the royal couple will visit the Clontarf Aboriginal College and see sporting facilities before attending a Garden Party at Government House.
Friday's itinerary include attendance to the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, lunch for new heads of government at Government House and an evening banquet at the Pan Pacific Hotel.
The last day will see them attend "The Big Aussie BBQ" event in Perth before departing the country.