Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip arrived in Canberra Wednesday after a 22-hour flight, and got themselves busy right away, responding to crowds of cheering children and beginning their 11-day stay in Australia.

While some commentators predict this will be the last time the Queen would take on a long journey to Australia, Buckingham Palace aides have rejected that idea.

"Her Majesty has more energy than the lot of us put together," said a Daily Mail source.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Governor General Quentin Bryce, the monarch's representative in Australia, welcomed the royal pair, who received a 21-gun salute as they got off the plane.

The Queen was dressed in an elegant aqua Stewart Parvin military coat. She accessorized with her Wattle brooch, a yellow and white diamond gift from the people of Australia presented during her visit in 1954, which was the first visit Down Under by a reigning monarch.

Looking positively fresh and cheerful after such a long flight, she received a bouquet of flowers from the same person who presented her with flowers in 1954 as a 6-year-old.

Margaret Cunningham, a retired art teacher now living in Bateau Bay in New South Wales, was pleased to have twice the privilege of greeting Queen Elizabeth II upon her arrival in Australia.

"I said it was lovely to see her again after all these years," she said.

"There was a glint in her eye, she looked at me with those same blue eyes from all those years ago. They never change, a steady warm gaze, honest and sincere," Cunningham told BBC.

Prior to the monarch's arrival, Gillard, who had previously said the country should become a republic after the Queen's reign, expressed her pleasure with the visit, saying it would be an honour to welcome the Queen and Prince Philip back to Australia.

"Many Australians can recall Her Majesty's previous visits as landmarks in their own lives... Queen Elizabeth can expect another warm welcome when she steps out once again as Queen of Australia," she told the press.

"I believe she is very well respected by Australians and I think she's going to be tremendously, warmly received from the moment that she sets foot on Australian soil," Gillard said.

The royal couple will spend most of their 11 days in Canberra, but they are also expected to travel to Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. They will open a meeting of Commonwealth leaders in Perth next week.

Australia