Queen to visit Australia on October 19-29: palace

LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip are to visit Canberra, Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne during their trip to Australia in October, Buckingham Palace announced Friday.

The royal couple will arrive in the capital Canberra on October 19 and depart Australia on October 29, the palace said.

The itinerary includes a visit to Brisbane on the east coast on October 24 and, on October 26, a trip to the Victorian capital Melbourne before travelling on Perth.

Queen Elizabeth, as head of the Commonwealth, is to attend the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in the west coast city, which runs from October 28 to 30.

The visit to Australia will be the couple’s 16th, the first coming in 1954 — the year after the queen’s coronation — and the latest in 2006.

Queen Elizabeth, 85, is head of state of 16 Commonwealth realms, including Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Jamaica.

Prince William, the queen’s grandson and the second in line to the throne, visited Australia earlier this year.

He visited the northeastern state of Queensland, which was hit by massive floods which killed more than 30 people, and then by Cyclone Yasi.

The Commonwealth of Nations, a 54-member group, is a successor to the British Empire and brings together a diverse spread of around a third of the world’s countries and a quarter of its population.

The heads of government meeting is held every two years.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.
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