Members of theBritish royal family regularly tour Australia, whilst there were only six visits between 1867 and 1954.Elizabeth II was the first reigning monarch of Australia to have set foot on Australian soil; she first did so on 3 February 1954, when she was 27 years old. During her sixteen journeys, the Queen visited every Australian state and the two major territories. In all, the reigning Australian monarch has visited Australia seventeen times, sixteen times under Elizabeth II, and once underCharles III.[1]
The first member of the Royal Family to visit Australia wasPrince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, son ofQueen Victoria, in 1867.
The trip was fraught with disaster. Prince Alfred arrived on boardHMS Galatea, of which he was also Captain, as part a world cruise. On 31 October 1867, he landed at South Australia and spent three weeks there. He toured South Australia, then attended the funeral of one of his ship's crew, who had accidentally drowned atGlenelg. He departed for Melbourne on the 22nd, and was met by Governor of Victoria on board the Victoria, who escorted the Galatea back to Melbourne. He officially landed on the 25th.[2]
During the welcome ceremonies, 10,000 people gathered to meet him. An image of William of Orange defeating the Catholic armies at theBattle of the Boyne was erected on a hall in Melbourne. Someone fired shots from inside the hall into the Irish Catholic crowd who had gathered outside to throw stones at the hall, a Catholic boy was killed, and a riot between Irish Catholics and Protestants subsequently broke out.[3]
On the 27th, the public banquet the Prince was supposed to attend broke out into rioting after Prince Alfred cancelled his attendance, concerned about security. He then visited Geelong, where large crowds gathered, leading the organising committee to flee.[3] Prince Alfred then visited Bendigo, where a wooden model ofthe Galatea was erected as the center of a fireworks display. Three boys climbed into the model and burned to death when fireworks they let off set it on fire. A ball was then planned in the newly opened Alfred Hall, named in his honour. It caught fire and burned to the ground before the ball.[3]
Prince Alfred then left for Tasmania on 28 November. He arrived in Hobart on 6 January, and was met by the steamship Southern Cross and escorted down theDerwent River. Hobart lit enormous bonfires on the hills around the city to mark the occasion. Prince Alfred's visit to Tasmania was relatively uneventful. He laid the foundation stone ofSt David's Cathedral, Hobart, and several events were held in his honour. He was then taken by road to the north of the state, and stayed at the country estate ofRobert Kermode,Mona Vale. He then visitedRoss,Campbell Town,Cleveland,Perth andLaunceston,[4] where he planted trees in Prince's Square and turned the first sod for the construction of the Launceston railway terminus.[5]
Prince Alfred then visited Sydney for a tour. During his tour of the Australian Museum, the Colonial Secretary,Henry Parkes produced a live snake, and the museum curatorGerard Krefft, produced a 'Timor Mongoose', which subsequently ignored the snake. Parkes then produced another mongoose from a bag, which attempted to escape before fighting and killing the snake for the Prince's entertainment. The Prince then kept the mongoose as a pet, and took it with him when he left Australia.[6]
Prince Alfred then departed for Brisbane. Upon his return to Sydney in March, the Duke was shot byHenry James O'Farrell in an assassination attempt while picnicking on the beach in the Sydney suburb ofClontarf, on 12 March 1868. The Duke recovered fully and continued on to New Zealand seven months later.[3]
Prince George of Wales, aged 15, visited Australia with his older brother,Prince Albert Victor of Wales, aged 17, in 1881, as midshipmen in training onHMS Bacchante. They arrived atAlbany, Western Australia in May, crossed toSouth Australia in a passenger vessel, travelled overland to Melbourne and from there sailed on a naval vessel to Sydney.
In 1901,Albert Edward, Prince of Wales and his wifeAlexandra were planning an Empire tour. However, the death ofQueen Victoria on 22 January 1901 meant that the couple had to prepare for a coronation in 1902. Consequently, Edward's sonPrince George, Duke of Cornwall and York, and his wife, PrincessMary, were assigned to undertake the voyage instead. Arriving at Albany,Western Australia, onSS Ophir, they sailed to Melbourne, where he opened the first Australian federal parliament. The royal couple later travelled by train to Sydney. They visitedQueensland from 20 to 25 May, where they laid the foundation stone ofSt John's Cathedral (Brisbane).[7]
Edward, Prince of Wales arrived inVictoria on 26 May 1920, representing his father,George V (previously Prince George, Duke of Cornwall and York), to thank Australians for their participation in theFirst World War. He was accompanied byLord Louis Mountbatten.
During the tour, his railway carriage overturned nearBridgetown, Western Australia.[8][9] However, the Prince remained unharmed and made light of the situation, emerging from the wreck with some important papers and a cocktail shaker, an act which endeared him to Australians and caused them to give him the nickname the "Digger Prince".[10][11]
In 1926,Prince Albert, Duke of York, and wifeElizabeth had their first child, Princess Elizabeth, who would later become QueenElizabeth II. The following year they undertook a Royal Tour without the baby. Queen Elizabeth was, in her own words, "very miserable at leaving the baby".[12] Their journey by sea took them via Jamaica, the Panama Canal and the Pacific; Elizabeth fretted constantly over her baby back in Britain, but their journey was a public relations success.[13] In New Zealand, the Yorks enjoyed the local fishing[14] in theBay of Islands accompanied by Australian sports fishermanHarry Andreas.[15]
When they sailed into Sydney harbour onHMS Renown, they attracted Australia's first gathering of more than one million people. The principal duty of the Prince on this visit was to open the provisionalParliament House in Canberra, on 9 May 1927. They spent 12 days inNew South Wales, seven inQueensland, four in Tasmania, eleven in Victoria, six in South Australia, six in Western Australia and three in theAustralian Capital Territory, with the remaining 10 for travelling and recreation.
According to a report by the director-general of the royal visit,Cyril Brudenell White, "the Royal Visitors had expressed the wish that when travelling through the States they might have opportunities of seeing and of being seen by, the greatest number of the general public. They especially desired to meet returned soldiers, new settlers and school children."[citation needed] On 9 May, Prince Albert reviewed over 2,000 Australian troops with various air squadrons flying overhead. One aircraft, piloted by Flying Officer Charles Ewan, crashed, killing Ewan.
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of George V, visited for an extensive 67-day tour in 1934, (4 October – December), the main purpose being to open the centenary celebrations of Victoria on 18 October. He arrived onHMS Sussex atFremantle, then travelled by train to Adelaide and ship to Melbourne. He also visited the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, New South Wales and Queensland. While in Melbourne, the Duke dedicated theShrine of Remembrance on 11 November and later opened theANZAC War Memorial in Sydney on 24 November 1934. He sailed to New Zealand from Brisbane, before returning to England.
The Duke of Gloucester served asGovernor-General of Australia from 20 January 1945 – 10 March 1947, the first and only royal Governor-General of Australia.
On 6 March 1948 it was announced that the KingGeorge VI andQueen Elizabeth would embark on a royal tour of Australia and New Zealand the following spring, accompanied by their daughterPrincess Margaret. Plans were already well advanced when, on 23 November, it was announced that the tour would have to be cancelled owing to the King's declining health. An attempt to reschedule the tour, in scaled-back form, for early 1952 also foundered and plans forPrincess Elizabeth andPrince Philip to visit instead were put on hold when the King died in February of that year.[16]
Elizabeth II was the first reigning monarch of Australia to set foot on Australian soil, coming ashore at Farm Cove, Sydney, on 3 February 1954. She had two years earlier been en route to Australia when her father died while she was on a private visit toKenya, forcing her to return to the United Kingdom. Once finally in Australia, with her husband theDuke of Edinburgh, she undertook a journey through theAustralian Capital Territory,New South Wales,Tasmania,Victoria,Queensland,South Australia andWestern Australia, including greeting 70,000 ex-servicemen and women at theMelbourne Cricket Ground and opening theAustralian Parliament inCanberra. In all, the Queen travelled 10,000 miles by air, making approximately 33 flights, 2000 miles by road (130 hours in cars in 207 trips), visiting all capitals except Darwin and 70 country towns, many by special "royal trains".[17] On one such train trip they visitedLeuralla, atLeura, in theBlue Mountains. Twenty-seven years earlier,Harry Andreas of Leuralla had acted as a fishing guide for the Queen's parents,[15] whilst the young Princess "Lillibet" was left at home with her grandparents,King George V andQueen Mary. This extensive travel allowed some 75 per cent of the Australian population to see the Queen at least once during the tour.[18] Elizabeth was so popular with the Australian people they came out in their thousands, lining the streets for an opportunity to see her drive past or attending formal events where she was the honoured and most distinguished guest. Adoring crowds hoped for the opportunity to shake her hand, give her a posy of fresh flowers or to engage in a short conversation with her as she walked by.[19] At the conclusion of the tour the Prime Minister,Robert Menzies, stated in an article published in theSydney Morning Herald:
It is a basic truth that for our Queen we have within us, sometimes unrealised until the moment of expression, the most profound and passionate feelings of loyalty and devotion. It does not require much imagination to realise that when eight million people spontaneously pour out this feeling they are engaging in a great act of common allegiance and common joy which brings them closer together and is one of the most powerful elements converting them from a mass of individuals to a great cohesive nation. In brief, the common devotion to the Throne is a part of the very cement of the whole social structure.[20]
In 1956, the Duke of Edinburgh opened theOlympic Games in Melbourne, and opened the1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games inPerth, while on a tour through Western Australia, New South Wales and the ACT. In 1965 he opened theRoyal Australian Mint, and in 1968 went to Australia to open the Duke of Edinburgh Study Conference.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother visited in 1958 to attend the British Empire Service League Conference in Canberra. She travelled to the Australian Capital Territory, Brisbane,[21] Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania, Adelaide and Perth, as well as many provincial and country areas during the time of her visit 14 February – 7 March.
Princess Alexandra of Kent visited in 1959 for Queensland's centenary celebrations. She arrived at Canberra and travelled to New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
.jpg)
Planned as a less formal tour than the one in 1954, the Queen and Prince Philip returned in 1963, touring all the states and territories, with the primary purpose being to lead the Canberra jubilee celebrations commemorating the 50th anniversary of the naming of the capital.[22] The Queen's itinerary was prepared around the use of the royal yachtBritannia to convey her to each capital city in Australia. Having spent eight weeks travelling to every part of Australia in 1954, the decision to useBritannia as a permanent base meant she could entertain aboard ship and rest between each port as she travelled the 9,000 miles around Australia's coastline.[23]
During this trip she also toured theRoyal Flying Doctor Service of Australia base inAlice Springs. In preparation for this tour, SirRoy Dowling, the Queen's Australian Secretary for the visit, was warned about Northern Territory mosquitoes. Dowling was warned, "You could be placed in an extremely embarrassing situation if the Queen's skin was marked and if the press published pictures and stories about those marks."[citation needed] Cities and towns visited included Hobart,[24] Melbourne,[25]Sydney,[26]Canberra,[27]Darwin,[28]Kununurra,[28]Perth,[29]Adelaide,[30]Brisbane,[30]Coolangatta,[30] andKoolan Island.[31]
Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent visited between 26 September and 8 October 1964 for the British Exhibition in Sydney and to open the new Gladesville Bridge. She travelled in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory before leaving, with a brief stop in Brisbane on the return flight.
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and his wifeAlice visited the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland between 20 March and 26 April 1965. The newTasman Bridge was opened by the Duke inHobart. He also opened theRoyal Easter Show in Sydney and a hydro-electric power station in theSnowy Mountains.
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother attended theAdelaide Festival of Arts as its patron, and openedFlinders University, also travelling to Western Australia, the Snowy Mountains and the Australian Capital Territory between 22 March and 7 April 1966.
King Charles III attended the Timbertop campus ofGeelong Grammar School for one term in 1966. This was not an official trip as the Prince was there primarily for schooling. A press release of 10 January 1966 made this clear, stating that he should be left alone by journalists: "The Prince of Wales will be engaged in full time study in Australia and will not undertake any official engagements. The Queen and the Commonwealth Government have requested that the Prince's visit should be treated as a private one and that he should be allowed the same freedom from public attention as any other schoolboy."[citation needed]
He returned in 1967 as the Queen's representative at the memorial service for Prime MinisterHarold Holt, and again in 1970.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh helped in 1967 to organise the third Commonwealth Study Conference to be held in May 1968. He travelled to the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania, where he helped volunteer fire fighters to fight a local fire.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent andhis wife Katherine made a 25-day tour between 9 August and 3 September 1969, of the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland as well as Papua New Guinea. The Duke opened theSouth Pacific Games inPort Moresby on 13 August.
.jpg)
The Queen, Prince Philip, Charles, Prince of Wales (for part of the tour only) andPrincess Anne made an extensive tour of Australia in 1970 in connection with the bi-centenary of CaptainJames Cook sailing up the east coast of Australia in 1770. This was a very popular tour and large crowds turned out to see the Queen. One large gathering occurred when the royal yachtHMYBritannia sailed up theBrisbane River, mooring just below the historicNewstead House inBrisbane.[32] In January 2009, a retired police detective revealed an unsuccessful attempt to derail the Royal Train nearBowenfels on 29 April 1970.[33]
The Queensland tour began on 12 April when the royal yachtBritannia entered Moreton Bay at Caloundra, sailing into Newstead Wharf. Her Royal Highness Princess Anne accepted an invitation to spend three days on a working sheep station in south-west Queensland. She flew toCunnamulla on 14 April, travelling 47 miles (76 km) by road to Talbarea Station unaccompanied. Princess Anne arrived in Cunnamulla in a government jet a little ahead of schedule. She travelled around the district in a maroon Rolls-Royce which was unloaded from the back of aRoyal Australian Air Force carrier plane. Princess Anne was given a demonstration of sheep shearing and wool classing on the working property and was accompanied on a horse ride during her stay.[32]
After several days of engagements in the city of Brisbane, Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh commenced their regional tour flying toLongreach on Wednesday 15 April. The primary purpose for their stopover in Longreach was to visit the first operational base of Queensland's first airline which became Australia's overseas airline. During the visit they viewed an exhibition of Qantas memorabilia, including a replica of the company's first aircraft, the AVRO 504K of 1921. The occasion marked the 50th anniversary of the founding ofQantas.[32]
Next on the tour wasMount Isa and while there the royals were driven to Kalkadoon Park where the royal couple witnessed a programmed event under the guidance of Ringmaster Mr. J. O’Shea. Kalkadoon Park was the original site of the famous Mount Isa rodeo. The following day, on 16 April, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh was taken on an underground tour of theMount Isa mine while Queen Elizabeth stayed above ground. The Marshalling Area around R62 Shaft Winder Tower was cleaned, and a display was set up using operational mining equipment from underground so the queen could see it in action. The display was designed to demonstrate the operation of an EIMCO air powered rail mounted rocker shovel loading ore.[34]
The tour continued from Mount Isa and the Royal Family travelled toMackay,Townsville, theGreat Barrier Reef,Cooktown andCairns. The visit to Mackay in the evening followed a late afternoon flight from Mount Isa on 16 April. Their Royal Highnesses were taken to the Anglican Parish Hall at the intersection of Sydney and Gordon Streets for a civic reception, held in honour of their arrival.
The royal party had a leisurely cruise to Townsville, taking four days to arrive after their departure from Mackay. On the morning of 20 April, the day's program began with a cavalcade of progress at the Townsville sports reserve. The grounds were filled with crowds and children waving their Australian flag. It was a spectacle for the royal visitors and the local community who came out on the day.
Following lunch on boardBritannia, the royal family were driven to the site of Queensland's newest university, theJames Cook University, Townsville campus. In the presence of many dignitaries, the queen formally granted autonomy to North Queensland's new educational institution. In 2020, James Cook University celebrated its 50th anniversary with a Treasures exhibition, showcasing 50 collection items from Special Collections, Eddie Koiku Mabo Library, James Cook University, Townsville.[35]
The rare collection item – 'James Cook University Development: Pimlico to the First Chancellor archival footage, 1960 – 1970' was one of the Treasures selected for the anniversary year. The 12min film preserved on NQHeritage, the University Library's Special Collections online repository, shows footage of the queen arriving at the official ceremony and being introduced to the official party.[36] Their Royal Highnesses first appear in the film at 6:06 minutes.
According to the formal schedule, the Royal YachtBritannia arrived offGreen Island on the morning of 21 April, after leaving Townsville the day before. The scheduled visit to Green Island was dependent on the weather. All three members of the Royal family were taken by Royal Barge to the Green Island jetty. The visit only lasted 30mins, beforeBritannia left for Cooktown by 10:15am the same day.
Timed to coincide with theAustralian Bicentenary celebrations of James Cook's landing in Cooktown two hundred years earlier in 1770, the Far North Queensland Bicentenary Committee planned a re-enactment of Cook's landing for the royal visitors. The esplanade alongside the Endeavour River was filled with spectators expecting to see the Royal family during their short stopover in Cooktown. Following the re-enactment, the queen officially opened the newly renovated James Cook Museum which was established in 1888 as the St Mary's Convent and boarding school run by the Sisters of Mercy originally from Dungarvan, Ireland. Since that time, the James Cook Museum has been renamed Cooktown Museum, acknowledging the First Nations history and culture that is intrinsically linked to the iconic region.
The Royal family arrived at Berth No. 3, Cairns Wharf the next day on the morning of 23 April. To catch a glimpse of the Royal family, spectators crowded the wharf car park and lined the streets along the official route to the airport. A Ceremonial Farewell was conducted atCairns Airport involving GovernorAlan Mansfield and PremierJoh Bjelke-Petersen. After the queen inspected the Guard of Honour, the official party were escorted to their plane in preparation for the flight to Canberra.[37]
The Queen returned to Australia again in 1973 to open theSydney Opera House and also in 1974 to open the Australian Parliament in Canberra. This time the Queen returned to London on 28 February for aGeneral Election in Britain, cutting short the tour, which the Duke of Edinburgh completed.
A royal tour of Australia was made in March 1977 as part of theSilver Jubilee of the queen's reign.
Prince Charles made a brief visit in May 1978 to attend the funeral of former Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies. Wearing the full dress uniform of a commander of theRoyal Navy, the prince read from the book ofEcclesiasticus chapter 44: "Let us now praise famous men . . .". He arrived and departed atMelbourne Airport aboard aRoyal Air ForceVickers VC10.[38][39][40]
.jpg)
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with:visit by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh for the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane. You can help byadding to it.(July 2021) |
In the 1980s the Queen made short tours to open the newHigh Court of Australia building in 1980 as well theCity Square in Melbourne, then again to open the newNational Gallery of Australia in 1982 and theParramatta Stadium in 1986. During the 1986 visit, at a ceremony held inGovernment House, Canberra, she signed a proclamation that brought into effect theAustralia Act 1986, which severed the final constitutional link between Australia and the United Kingdom.
Lady Diana Spencer, laterPrincess of Wales, made a short private visit to Australia with hermother andstep-father to their sheep station at Yass, north of Canberra, in early February 1981. Prince Charles had proposed to her less than a week before.
The Prince of Wales visited Australia shortly after the announcement of his engagement and prior to his July wedding in 1981.
The Queen attended the1981 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), held in Melbourne in September.
On 20 March 1983, the Prince of Wales, this time with the Princess of Wales, and their sonPrince William, landed inAlice Springs for an official visit. 26 October – 8 November 1985 visited Victoria for 150th anniversary of the state. This tour included visits to Brisbane and Canberra. The Prince and Princess of Wales also made a visit during thebicentenary celebrations in 1988.
The Duke and Duchess of Kent visited Queensland in April 1985 to open the Performing Arts Complex at Southbank. They visited Toowoomba on 24 April following an invitation by Steven Rafter to visit the Toowoomba Grammar School.
The Queen and Prince Philip also made a popular visit in 1988 as part of the bicentenary celebrations. On Saturday 30 April 1988, the Queen opened the World Expo in Brisbane before opening the new permanentParliament House in Canberra on Monday 9 May.
During the bicentenary celebrations, Australia was also visited by The Prince and Princess of Wales, The Duke and Duchess of York and The Duke and Duchess of Kent.
In 1992, the Queen returned to the sesquicentenary of the incorporation of the city of Sydney. This tour included visits to regional towns, inDubbo she visited theWestern Plains Zoo.[41]
In the last years of the decade she did not visit the country to avoid being embroiled in the debate about the future of the monarchy. Her next tour was timed to be made well afterthe 1999 referendum on the republic. The Australian government ofJohn Howard had advised the Queen on the timing.[42]
In 1994,Charles III then Prince of Wales, visited Australia. He was giving a speech in Darling Harbour during the Australia day celebrations.David Kang ran up to the Prince and fired two blanks before falling onto the ground; he was arrested by many police officers. The Prince was unhurt and was ushered off the podium.[43]
After her divorce in 1996, Diana, Princess of Wales made one subsequent visit prior to her death in 1997.
In 2000 the Queen made an extended tour in the states of Australia which was followed by another visit in 2002 when she attended theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2002: the second such meeting held in Australia.
On 11 March 2006,Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex visited Australia to announce the winners of theCommonwealth Writers' Prize. He also had lunch with the Prime Minister,John Howard, visited a neo-natal unit in Heidelberg, visited victims of bush fires in Victoria and attended the opening and closing ceremonies of theCommonwealth Games in Melbourne.
One day later, the Queen and Prince Philip arrived in Melbourne where the Queen opened the Commonwealth Games. As well, the royal couple opened a new section of the Sydney Opera House, attended a Commonwealth Day ceremony in Sydney, had official meetings with the Prime Minister, Governor-General and Leader of the Opposition at Government House in Canberra, lunched with former governors-general, met with firefighters in Canberra, attended and made a formal speech at an official dinner at Parliament House in Canberra to commemorate her 80th birthday and watched some of the events at the games.
Anne, Princess Royal attended the memorial inRod Laver Arena,Melbourne,Victoria on Sunday, 22 February 2009, for victims of the2009 Victorian bushfires.
On 19 January 2010,Prince William arrived in Sydney for a three-day visit to Australia.[44]
The following year a visit was made in early 2011 by Prince William to flood damaged areas of Queensland and Victoria.
In October 2011, Queen Elizabeth II visited a number of cities in her role asQueen of Australia andHead of the Commonwealth. At a reception in her honour held at Parliament House in Canberra on 21 October 2011, the Prime Minister,Julia Gillard, described the Queen as "a vital constitutional part of Australian democracy".[45] The Queen in her speech at the same reception stated that,[46]
It has been a difficult year for this country in many ways despite the successes. The world witnessed the anguish of Australians as they lived through a summer of national disasters. We were all inspired by the courage and resolution shown by those affected in the face of crippling desolation. Ever since I first came here in 1954 I have watched Australia grow and develop at an extraordinary rate. This country has made dramatic progress economically in social scientific and industrial endeavours and above all in self-confidence.
The Queen visited Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth during the tour. In Perth she attended theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
Prince Charles travelled to Australia in November 2012 withthe Duchess of Cornwall as part of a visit to Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand on behalf of the Queen of each respective Realm in the year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Earlier in 2012Prince Edward, Duke of Kent visited from 28 January to 1 February[47] andPrince Richard, Duke of Gloucester visited from 21 to 26 May.[48]
In October 2013,Prince Harry visited Sydney for thecentenary celebrations of the Royal Australian Navy. Representing his grandmother, the Queen, he took the salute fromHMAS Leeuwin alongside Governor-GeneralQuentin Bryce. The prince made a further visit to SAS forces in Perth before departing for the United Kingdom.
In April 2014, Prince William arrived in Australia for a ten-day tour with his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, and their son,Prince George. The family's itinerary took them to Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Uluru and Adelaide.[49] In November 2014, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, visited Australia at the invitation of The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award – Australia. He attended 18 engagements in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.[50][51]
Prince Harry, before reporting for duty to theAustralian Defence Force, visited theAustralian War Memorial inCanberra on 6 April 2015.[52] In May 2015, Prince Harry made a farewell walkabout at theSydney Opera House and visitedMacquarie University Hospital.[53][54] In November 2015, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney, Albany and Perth.[55] Prince Charles and the Duchess returned again in 2018 for events associated with the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
In April 2018 Prince Edward visited Australia to attend the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games as Vice Patron of the Commonwealth Games Federation. Whilst in Australia Prince Edward, in his capacity as Chair of the Trustees of the International Award Foundation he attended 40 functions to support the development of The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award – Australia. Prince Edward visited Melbourne, Ballarat, Romsey, Hobart, Brisbane, Adelaide, Seppeltsfield. Prince Edward continued his international fund raising challenge playing a set of Real Tennis on every real tennis court in the world, including the 5 courts in Australia. In addition to visiting schools and youth organisations to promote the Duke of Ed, he also conducted round table meetings with the university sector, business and sporting organisations.[56][57] Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall returned again in 2018 for events associated with the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. In June 2018,Kensington Palace announced that Prince Harry and his wife theDuchess of Sussex would tour Australia around the time of theInvictus Games which was held in Sydney in October 2018.[58][59] Later,Prince Andrew, Duke of York undertook a 9-day tour of the country's eastern states in November.[60] During this trip, Meghan announced that she and Harry were expecting their first child.
In September 2019, Prince Edward visited Australia to in his capacity as Chair of the Trustees of the International Award Foundation to assist celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award in Australia. He attended 25 functions in Sydney, Wollongong, Alice Springs and Darwin, including presenting nearly 400 Gold Awards at a ceremony held in Sydney Town Hall.[61] Prince Andrew also visitedWestern Australia in October 2019 as part of his Pitch@Palace initiative, although the Prince did no media interviews during the tour and kept a low profile during the visit due to controversy surrounding his association withJeffrey Epstein.[62]
ThePrincess Royal and her husband Vice AdmiralSir Timothy Laurence, toured Australia from 9 to 11 April 2022.[63] On the first day of her visit, she opened the 200thSydney Royal Easter Show, which she first opened with her parents and brother Charles in 1970. She had last attended the event in 1988.[63] She had an engagement as patron of the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth, before attending a dinner at theSydney Olympic Park.[63] The couple also met with representatives of theNew South Wales Rural Fire Service, theRoyal Australian Corps of Signals andRoyal Australian Corps of Transport.[63]
.jpg)
King Charles III andQueen Camilla arrived in Australia on 18 October 2024 to tour the Australian Capital Territory and parts of New South Wales. The tour was Charles's first of Australia as its sovereign, also making him the second reigning monarch to visit the nation.[64] Their first engagements took place on 20 October, including a visit toSt Thomas' Anglican Church, where they greeted crowds.[65] They spent the next day inCanberra, where they visited theAustralian War Memorial and where Charles gave a speech at a reception for theAustralian Parliament. After his speech, he was heckled by SenatorLidia Thorpe, who was escorted out of the reception.[66] Charles and Camilla spent the final day of the tour in Sydney, where they undertook several engagements, including a naval review inSydney Harbour[67]
Queen Elizabeth II visited theCocos (Keeling) Islands in 1954 while the territory was still administered bySingapore.A visit was made toNorfolk Island in 1974.
This Wikipedia article incorporates text fromHear ye! Hear ye! It's 1954 and Her Majesty is coming! (4 February 2022) published by theState Library of Queensland underCC BYlicence, accessed on 27 May 2022. This Wikipedia article incorporates text fromAhoy! Ahoy! – Her Majesty returns in 1963! (14 March 2022) published by theState Library of Queensland underCC BYlicence, accessed on 27 May 2022. This Wikipedia article incorporates text fromThe state of Queensland welcomes royalty in 1970 – Part 1 The Inland Tour (6 May 2022) published by theState Library of Queensland underCC BYlicence, accessed on 16 May 2022. This Wikipedia article incorporates text fromThe state of Queensland welcomes royalty in 1970 – Part 2 The Coastal Tour (6 May 2022) published by theState Library of Queensland underCC BYlicence, accessed on 16 May 2022.
Media related toRoyal visits by the Monarchy of the Commonwealth to Australia at Wikimedia Commons