The Royal visit by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall arrived in Queensland on Wednesday 4 April as part of their official duties at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
This was The Prince of Wales’ seventh visit to Queensland and The Duchess of Cornwall’s second visit.
The tour focused on the themes of community, sustainability and disaster recovery and resilience, and reflected The Prince's strong relationship with the Australian Armed Forces, as well as the work of Prince’s Trust Australia.
The Royal visit included Brisbane, Gold Coast, Bundaberg and Cairns and took in some of Queensland’s most iconic natural wonders, including the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest.
Brisbane
On Wednesday 4 April, their Royal Highnesses received an official ceremonial welcome to Australia, including a 21 gun salute, at Old Government House, QUT. The official welcome was followed by a public walk in the City Botanic Gardens, giving the public an opportunity to greet their Royal Highnesses.
The Prince and The Duchess visited Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, meeting with Juiced TV - Australia’s first television program made by children in hospital, for children in hospital, ultimately benefitting their health.
His Royal Highness attended a reception at Government House in Brisbane hosted by His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey, Governor of Queensland, to celebrate The Prince's relationship with Australia over 70 years, attended by guests who are also turning 70 this year and some of the inspirational Australians the Prince has met on previous visits to Australia.
Gold Coast
The Prince of Wales represented Her Majesty The Queen at the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Following the Opening Ceremony, Their Royal Highnesses toured the Athletes’ Village before His Royal Highness presented medals at the Swimming Finals at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre, and The Duchess of Cornwell presented medals at the cycling on Thursday 5 April.
Their Royal Highnesses also undertook activities at Broadbeach, unveiling the final Commonwealth Walkway plaque and meeting with Sport2Clean and Surf Life Saving nippers.
Bundaberg
On Friday 6 April, His Royal Highness travelled to Bundaberg, to attend a community celebration with local residents at the iconic Bundaberg Rum Distillery, hosted by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
The Big Bundy BBQ brought the Bundaberg community together for a day of music and entertainment. During the event, His Royal Highness toured the distillery and heard more about the work the Prince’s Trust has been doing to partner with local community members to help threatened loggerhead turtles.
While in Bundaberg, The Prince attended a roundtable on coral resilience while visiting the Great Barrier Reef. 2018 is the International Year of the Reef, and The Prince has been at the forefront of efforts to improve coral reef health and resilience.
Cairns
During his visit to Cairns The Prince visited HMAS Cairns Navy base to tour HMAS Leeuwin and presented the ship's company with the Gloucester Cup, an award for the unit of the Australian Navy that displays the highest level of overall proficiency.
The Prince also visited the Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS), which is celebrating its 90th anniversary, touring the base, meeting staff, viewing RFDS aircraft and naming a Beechcraft Super King Air 350.
The Prince then visited the Daintree Rainforest, where he joined a roundtable on sustainable forestry.
The Prince completed his visit to Far North Queensland by watching the Commonwealth Games women's basketball competition, meeting the teams from India and New Zealand after the game.