Thursday, April 24, 2014

Cambridge's in Canberra

     After a rather light-hearted (and hip-hop filled) day in Adelaide, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in Australia's capital city for one their busiest days on the tour, which was also their last full day.

     Canberra was established as a capital city in 1913 as a compromise between Australia's two rival largest cities - Melbourne and Sydney. The word "Canberra" is thought to derive from the word "Kambera", which means "meeting place" in the old Aboriginal Ngunnawal language. Canberra it is part of the Australian Capital Territory (A.C.T.), an enclave within - but not part of - New South Wales, which is similar to the American capital of Washington being part of the District of Columbia (D.C.), and not part of a state.

Canberra, capital of Australia.

     Kate was wearing a green Catherine Walker dress, whilst William was in a dark suit with a gold tie, prompting some people to declare that they were cleverly dressing themselves in Australia's sporting colors of green and gold. However, it appears more likely that they were going for nature-themed tones that would fit with their first engagement.

     The royal couple were met by the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, Katy Gallagher, for a visit to the National Arboretum Canberra, a 618 acre open outdoor area that was created following brush fires in 2001 and 2003, and which has fantastic views of the city.
      After signing the visitor’s book, the Duke and Duchess planted a tree to mark their visit, and they were joined by 6-year-old twins, Oliver and Sebastian Lye, who helped by pouring water on the newly-planted tree.

     William and Kate then chatted with other youngsters on a playground at the National Arboretum, and accepted more gifts for Prince George along the way, with Kate reportedly saying: "His cot's going to be full of little teddy bears." At one point, they made their way to a section of the playground with pods, and Kate was seen playing with some of the local children inside one of them.
      From here, the next engagement was at Parliament House for a reception hosted by Prime Minister Tony Abbott in the Great Hall.

     Parliament House was opened by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on May 9, 1988 as part of the Australian bicentenary. It is the home of the Parliament of Australia, with a chamber for the lower legislative body - the House of Representatives, as well as for the upper legislative body - the Senate.

     Like its counterpart in the United Kingdom - the House of Commons - the House of Representatives is decorated in green, albeit with a muted color to suggest the color of eucalyptus leaves. Meanwhile, the Senate takes its cues from the UK House of Lords by having a red color scheme, but with tints of ochre to represent the earth and the Australian Outback.

Parliament House, Canberra.

     It is in the Senate where William may one day make a Speech from the Throne as King of Australia, which is something his grandmother has done before, and is similar to her duties at the annual State Opening of Parliament in the UK.

     This day's event however, was a much less grand affair, though that did not stop 600 dignitaries and guests packing the foyer and Great Hall of Parliament House in a bid to see the royal couple. To keep the attendee's entertained, a string quartet played "Royals" by the Kiwi singer-songwriter Lorde.

     When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived, they were welcomed by Prime Minister Abbott and his wife Margie into the Great Hall, where they received a herald trumpet fanfare welcome and a warm greeting from those in the building.

     On the platform, William, Kate, and all of those in the room stood in attention during the Australian National Anthem, "Advance Australia Fair."
      Following this were speeches by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, which were witty and well-received, with strong support for the monarchy and the UK-Aussie relationship expressed.

     On this penultimate day of the tour, Abbot stated that "royal visits are a reminder that the best things in life are those that have stood length of time", and he thanked the Duke and Duchess for the joy they have given to millions of Australian's for whom this tour mean a lot. Shorten followed up by stating that "Royals bring out the best in Australians", and also remarked that the Royal couple had brought cheer to the country, especially to those who are "doing it tough" in these times.
      Then it was Prince William's turn. In his impassioned and heartfelt address, the Duke of Cambridge told the crowd that "anticipation has turned into deep admiration" as the tour unfolded over the last week. He praised Australia as a "lucky country", where the "harder you work, luckier you get." Of the tour, he stated that the experience of it all had been wonderful and quipped that whilst he and Catherine would take wonderful memories from it, Prince George will take away "his cuddly wombat which he has taken to chew lovingly."
      The Duke also gave an indication that he Prince Harry may take part in next year's ANZAC centenary of the WWI Gallipoli campaign. Above all else, he thanked Australia and its people for the "warmth and generosity" that had been shown to him and his family in the course of this visit, and stated: "We greatly look forward to coming back. And when we do return, it will be to marvel again at all that Australia is, and will yet become."

     In short, the speech at Parliament House was a thoughtful and emotional summary of his and Kate's feelings about their tour of Australia. William later reportedly told a reception guest that his favorite parts of the tour were the Blue Mountains and Manly Beach, where he said he wanted to rip off his pants and reveal is Speedos. (Probably best that he didn't...remember the last time a prince failed to keep his pants on?)
      Following this successful reception, the Duke and Duchess traveled from Parliamentary Triangle to the National Portrait Gallery for a tour.

     A large crowd had gathered outside the NPG building awaiting William and Kate's arrival, and when they did, there was a rapturous welcome as they headed inside.

     For three-year-old Wilhelmina Dreghorn, she had the honor of a lifetime when she presented a posy (a bunch of small flowers) to Kate at the entrance to the Portrait Gallery. Her mother had won a ballot for her daughter to have this opportunity, and little Wilhelmina talked to Kate for while as she soaked up a moment that she will never forget.
      Inside, the Royal couple viewed an exhibition of artworks and had the privilege to meet some of the subjects of the portraits. Amongst the paintings they saw was Jiawei Shen's portrait of Crown Princess Mary.

     After about an hour-and-a-half, William & Kate emerged from the NPG to greet the awaiting crowds on a walkabout. Along the way, a reporter from the Canberra Times, Jil Hogan, mentioned to the Duchess that George was gorgeous, to which the Duchess she said: "I'm sorry we couldn't bring him with us! He's very noisy." 
      After a week since the Australian leg of this tour began, it was clear that there are no letting up of enthusiasm for the future King and Queen of Australia. Indeed, it was - as CNN's Max Foster said at the beginning - as though Australian's had a sense of ownership in these people who are members of their Royal Family.

     It was on that night that these Australian royals were honored at a reception they attended at Government House held by the Governor-General, Sir Peter Gosgrove on their final night in the country.
      The Duchess of Cambridge appeared elegant wearing a Lela Rose cocktail dress at the reception, which was attended by 100 guests from the arts, sports, business, youth, conservation, and charity sectors of society. It was noted that William wore a blue tie, which was his third tie of the day - having already worn gold a red for the day's previous engagements.
      William and Kate appeared to be much at ease as the mingled with the attendee's on the night before they headed back to the United Kingdom. Among those was the Jordanian ambassador, to whom Kate said 'Shukran' (which means "thank you" in Arabic), which is a reminder that the Middleton family lived in Jordan for few years when Kate was young and her parents were working for British Airways. 

     On this night towards the end of the tour, it seemed as though any talk of an immediate move towards republicanism had been muted, if not thoroughly quashed for the time being.

     April 25th marks the very last of the 2014 Royal Tour for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George.

     It is ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) day in Australia, and William and Catherine are to attend the ANZAC Day march and commemorative service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, which will remember the 99th year of the ANZAC landings during the Gallipoli campaign of World War I in Turkey.

     This will be followed by a tree planting in the Memorial Garden – planting a seed from a lone pine which was taken from the site of the Gallipoli battle.

      The Cambridge's will then prepare to return to the UK. After farewells to their hosts, they will depart Defence Establishment Fairbairn in Canberra for London.
Photo Credit: Nicholas Brown via Flickr cc, Ryan Wick via Flickr cc, Twitter Feed Embeds
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