The Princess Royal in Australia and Papua New Guinea

 

The Princess Royal - who is travelling with husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence - was welcomed to Sydney by the Governor of New South Wales Margaret Beazley and husband Dennis Wilson. She held a brief Audience with the Governor-General (The Queen’s representative in Australia) before heading to the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

The Sydney Royal Easter Show

Her Royal Highness inspected troops on the showground and gave a speech in which she spoke of the importance of the annual event:

The annual show is hosted by the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales and brings regional communities together to showcase the best produce, livestock, crafts and skills.

The Princess Royal met stallholders at the event, where she learnt more about the challenges faced by those working on the land after years of drought and recent floods.

The Rural Fire Service HQ

On day two of her visit, The Princess Royal met firefighters at the New South Wales Rural Fire Service HQ in Sydney, where she learnt more about the impact of the devastating bushfires in 2019-2020.

Her Royal Highness spoke to the family of volunteer firefighters Geoff Keaton and Andrew O'Dwyer, who were among the 34 victims of the bushfire crisis, and she visited a fire-truck themed memorial playground at Telopea Park, built in honour of the two men, both fathers of young children. 

Sea Heritage Foundation

The Princess then had the chance to see MV Cape Don, which is being refurbished and preserved to provide a unique learning environment for indigenous peoples to become ratings (deckhands, sailors) in the maritime sector.

The MV Cape Don, a former lighthouse tender vessel and previously served in the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service from 1963 to 1990,

Garden Party

Her Royal Highness later attended a Garden Party at Government House in Sydney, with representatives from Her Patronages.

Royal Australian Corps of Signals and Royal Australian Corps of Transport

On the final morning in Australia, The Princess visited members of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals (RASIGS) and Royal Australian Corps of Transport (RACT) at Holsworthy Barracks.

Her Royal Highness took the opportunity to visit the Barracks as Colonel-in-Chief of RACT and RASIGS, and inspected a Quarter Guard, toured static capability displays and met with soldiers and officers before concluding her visit with an address to the audience.

The Princess has been the Colonel-in-Chief of the RASIGS since 1977 and of the RACT since 2011.

Arrival in Papua New Guinea

The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence were welcomed to Papua New Guinea by Prime Minister James Marape and his wife, Rachel.

Her Royal Highness later attended a reception in Port Moresby with business leaders and politicians.

Caritas Technical Secondary School

The Princess Royal started her first full day in Papua New Guinea with a visit Caritas Technical Secondary School in Port Moresby.

Her Royal Highness had the chance to meet staff and pupils at the school, which has 700 pupils.

Port Moresby General Hospital

The Princess then travelled to Port Moresby General Hospital to officially open the National Cardiac Diagnostic Centre.

The centre will be a first for Papua New Guinea and will link other specialist hospital services to provide a more holistic patient care service.

St. John Ambulance

Her Royal Highness later opened the National Ambulance Control Centre of the St. John Ambulance. There are stations in all regions of PNG providing medical emergency medical care to the population as well as teaching basic emergency life support courses to doctors, nurses and civilians working in rural and remote regions.

Vabukori Village

At Vabukori Village The Princess opened the Women’s Resource Centre, a community based non-governmental organisation based in the village. The centre teaches skills and trains members to develop their talents to benefit families and help strengthen the wider communities.

Hanuabada Village

Her Royal Highness also met village leaders and elders in Hanuabada Village.

Bomana War Cemetery 

On behalf of The Queen, The Princess laid a wreath at the cemetery, which is part of the Commonwealth War Graves.

The remains of 3,824 Commonwealth soldiers are buried here.

Papua New Guinea Adventure Park

At Papua New Guinea Adventure Park, Her Royal Highness met representatives from the Department of Environment and Conservation and toured the Orchid Gardens.

National Museum and Art Gallery

The Princess Royal had a tour of the National Museum and Art Gallery. The Museum’s founding collections were collected by the First Administrator for British Papua Sir William MacGregor between 1889 and 1898.

The Museum opened in 1975 and houses artefacts from 22 provinces of the country.

Investiture

Her Royal Highness hosted an Investiture Ceremony at Government House in Port Moresby.

To finish the visit in Papua New Guinea, Her Royal Highness had a dinner with The Prime Minister and representatives from across the charity sector and business groups.