Queen to touch down in Canberra



THE Queen will jet into Canberra this evening, ahead of a packed 10-day visit which will take in four cities, three states and the ACT.


Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh will touch down ahead of engagements tomorrow with Governor-General Quentin Bryce and a tour of gardens at Floriade, with sunny conditions in the mid-20s forecast for Canberra.

The royal visit has been highly anticipated by locals, but the monarch can expect protesters, not in the form of republicans but by those seeking to draw attention to the killing of black bears for the ceremonial caps of the Queen’s guards.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) spokeswoman Karen Vincent said she hoped the Queen would show compassion for the hundreds of bears maimed and killed for nothing more than ceremonial hats.

“No tradition on earth can justify this cruelty,” Ms Vincent said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott are expected to meet the Queen on Friday, ahead of a parliamentary reception hosted by Ms Gillard and her partner Tim Mathieson at Parliament House.

The royal couple will spend the weekend in Canberra, where they are scheduled to have lunch with a group of 40 people reportedly including actor Geoffrey Rush, who starred as a speech therapist in The King’s Speech, a film about the Queen’s father, King George VI.

Next week the royal couple are to visit Brisbane, where they are to meet those involved with the flood effort, before returning to Canberra and continuing on to Melbourne on Wednesday.

Their itinerary will then take them to Perth ahead of the opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) on Friday and their departure on Saturday, October 29.

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes