The Australian Chamber Orchestra performed for Prince Charles

The Australian Chamber Orchestra ended its tour of Europe with a performance at St. James's Palace state apartments in London on Monday night, 12th December.

Prince Charles and the 150 invited guests were treated to performances of major works from artists including Tchaikovsky, Elgar and Sir Hubert Parry, the composer of Jerusalem.

Viola player Stephen King said it was his last performance with the orchestra. "I have been with the orchestra for eight and half years and it's special to end it with a performance for The Prince," Mr King said. "I can't think of a better way."

He said The Prince impressed the orchestra with his knowledge of surfing. "He talked about the music we played and about surfing," he said. "He is quite diverse. He seems to know a lot about everything."

The Prince told the audience that he had been curious to meet the orchestra. "When I read Kathy Lette's recent article I wasn't sure what to expect," he joked, referring to a piece about the orchestra by the Australian writer. But he said he was grateful to "enjoy such skill".

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Why weren't you at Federation Square?

An eye witness report from Neville who gave permission for the re-print and who took the photos


The day got off to a laid back start. I had requested leave as soon as the date of the Queen's visit was announced, so I got to make the most of the big day. I went to a 6am cycle class, and the instructor, Nicholas, looked at me in surprise and said: “Why aren’t you at Federation Square?” Indeed, after the amazing turnout in Brisbane, I did consider getting an early tram into town. But when I have seen the Queen in the past, my general rule has been to get in place about three hours ahead of her arrival. So I had an hour or two up my sleeve and enjoyed some time back at home with my French Bulldog Bert, who, as I prepared to depart again, got all excited; no doubt he wanted to meet the Queen as well. His disappointment at being left behind was somewhat soothed by a nice big treat and we separated on good terms.

I got the train to Flinders Street Station, directly opposite Federation Square, arriving just after 9:00am. Already there were large numbers of people in place, and I started to scout out a good position along the red carpet. There were no spots left at the front of the barriers, so I looked for the next best thing: directly behind a short person. I was in luck and staked my claim behind a elderly lady, who also had some flowers. She was with her granddaughter, and although I never found out for sure where she was from, I did hear comments about living in Cambodia. Next to her was a tall, solid young man, also clutching flowers, who kept mentioning that he had arrived at 5:45 am (more of him later). There was a couple who came down from Bendigo last night and another family who got an early train from Ballarat.

I settled in for the long wait and enjoyed the atmosphere. Before too long a jazz band took to the stage to provide some light entertainment. They were pretty good, and even played a coupe of my favourites; “Fly me to the moon (in other words..)” and “The girl from Ipanema”. After about an hour the crowds had grown and the pressure from behind had caused a ripple on effect. I noticed that I was gradually being nudged from behind the Cambodian lady into the shadow of the tall young chap already mentioned. I was beginning to think that I had made a bad choice, but it was too late to move now. Then I noticed that there were two Constables standing behind us, taking an interest in the tall young man. A few minutes later the Constables were joined by a couple of Sergeants. Finally a Senior Sergeant appeared, pulling on his leather gloves, just like The Freak from “Prisoner” (or “Prisoner - Cell Block H” as some of you might know it).

This did not bode well for the future, so I began shoving back against the swell of the crowd to disassociate myself from the tall young man. Sure enough, Senior Sergeant reached into the crowd and tapped him on the shoulder and asked to have a word. The tall young man was not very impressed, and unfortunately, made his feelings known. A young lady next to me was so upset that she started crying (she had earlier asked him if she could squeeze in next to him, only to be scathingly told no). Obviously it is not a good idea to yell at police if you want to keep your prime position. He did not come back. His cousin, who had joined him after I arrived, asked another Constable what was going on. The Constable said: “You know what’s going on”, and then told the couple from Bendigo that it would be a good idea not to get involved. This little drama certainly helped pass the time, and after all the shuffling around I found myself back behind my Cambodian lady, with a great view of proceedings. (The tall young man's side of the story can be read here.)

As we got into the final hour of waiting, the sense of anticipation grew. Reports arrived that the Queen had arrived at the Royal Children’s Hospital. Word went around that she was wearing “shocking pink”. The plastic covering the red carpet was rolled back, and our nostrils were assaulted with the acrid smell of cheap new carpet warming in the morning sun. But it meant that the Queen was getting closer, so nobody minded. A couple of workmen made sure the carpet joins were smooth, and got cheer for their efforts. Then the Australian Federal Police arrived and started lining up all the children with flowers and gifts. There was one little girl who was the spitting image of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden at that age, right down to the same glasses, it was quite uncanny. Finally the band stopped and an announcement was made: "The Queen had arrived." A tremendous cheer went up, flags waved, and applause broke out. The big screen then burst into colour and we were able to watch proceedings. Yes, the rumour was right; pink. The crowd cheered again.


It was 12:43 and the Queen and Duke began their slow progress towards the Prince’s Bridge tram stop. There were regular calls of “three cheers for Her Majesty the Queen”, with everyone joining in with great enthusiasm. Finally, here she was right in front of me, less than a metre away. She was focussing on all the children and trying to juggle the massive amounts of flowers, flags, cards and gifts being held up to her. I last saw the Queen up close in 2006 at the Royal Exhibition Buildings, a few hours before she opened the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. No doubt about it, she has aged, and is starting to stoop a little. But when she looked up it was with the same bright eyes, and wonderful smile. The Duke was near by, keeping an eye on the Queen, as well as chatting to the crowd on the other side. He is a remarkable man. Lady Susan Hussey was head of the chain of helpers making sure the floral tributes kept on moving.




Then it was all over, and the Queen disappeared behind the cameras and officials who were bringing up the rear. But the big screen meant we could still enjoy what was happening. It was then that I turned around and noticed just how massive the crowd was. I have seen the Queen in Melbourne three times, twice in Sydney, and once in Adelaide. But nothing has come close to this massive turn out of people. I could see down to the tram stop, and across to Flinders Street Station and Prince’s Bridge. Every available vantage point was chock-a-block jam-packed with hundreds and hundreds of happy faces. The bells at St Paul’s Cathedral then started to peel, adding to the wonderful sense of occasion. I have never seen anything like it before. It was absolutely amazing.


I then headed up to Government House, picking up some welcome refreshments, and settled under a shady tree to wait for the Queen’s departure. It was a lot quieter, with a couple of hundred people enjoying the gardens, sitting on the lawns, or cooling off under the large spreading trees. A security guard announced that the Queen was running late and would not depart until 2:40. This was good news. I was beat, and could happily have spent the rest of the afternoon under the tree. Before long the Governor of Victoria departed for the airport to be in place for the formal goodbyes. I dragged myself out from under my tree and got ready for another glimpse of the Queen. I was in the same spot where I stood in 1985 for the arrival of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the first time I saw a members of the Royal Family. The Royal Range Rover soon came into sight and a cheer went up. Just over four hours after her arrival, the Queen departed.

I made my way home, tired and very badly sun-burnt. It was only about 20 degrees, but with hardly a cloud in the sky my poor old bald head got a roasting. I’ve just watched the news and one estimation is that nearly 100,000 people lined the streets today. Let’s see if Perth can top that!

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Fighting prejudices - like the ones published in The Age

Journalists do not have to know everything, but very often they write their articles as if they are the fount of knowledge. Examples for this theory can easily be traced in our beloved newspaper, The Age.

Michael Shmith loves to hate the Australian Monarchy and must have suffered a lot of pain accompanying Her Majesty and His Royal Highness on their Melbourne tour. He went to federation Square and watched the Royal couple boarding a Melbourne tram. This led Mr Shmith to claim in an article published in today's Age, Not the Rolls or Bentley, but a commoner's conveyance gives Her Majesty a royal ride:

How often does the Queen take public transport? Well, to be honest, only when she doesn't have to share it with the public. There have been the occasional train trips - Eurostar springs to mind - but the royal personage was born to the carriage and the limousine, and to have doors opened for her by people employed for just that task. A tram, therefore, must be a new experience and, for the five minutes or so it took for this specially painted conveyance to hum along St Kilda Road, possibly an enlightening one for a woman who has, after all, seen everything.

Journalists do not have to know everything, however, when it comes to our Royal Family, it is very easy to find out, if an accusation (“to be honest, only when she doesn't have to share it with the public”) can be verified or proven wrong. And in Mr. Shmith’s case he passed on his opinion which is not based on facts.

For example, in December 2009 The Daily Mail published this story: Thrifty Queen catches ordinary passenger train on her journey to Sandring-
ham for Christmas

Fellow passengers on the 10.45 First Capital Connect service to King’s Lynn couldn’t quite believe their eyes as the Queen stepped on board a first class carriage.

The Queen, 83, appeared perfectly relaxed as she chatted with her aides for the first leg of the 100 mile journey to King’s Lynn, the nearest station to Sandringham.

But after the train’s stop at Cambridge a secretary opened a briefcase and the Queen spent most of the rest of the journey opening and reading her Christmas cards.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman added: "Members of the Royal Family, including the Queen, frequently use scheduled train services.

"We have to look at issues such as cost effectiveness and security but do try to when it is appropriate."

And even if The British newspaper is too farfetched for an Aussie journalist, The Australian ran the story as well: Queen joins commoners on royal express to Sandringham for Christmas

Mr. Shmith could also have read in The Sunday Telegraph, which said on 7th May 2011:

A royal aide said: “There is no question of the Queen or other senior members of the Royal family scaling back their official duties. But in order to be cost effective, it is likely that more scheduled train and plane services will be used.”

These train rides usually go unnoticed, which is fine, but then they escape the attention of Mr Shmith. On the other hand, when they are reported, then he and his like minded republican colleagues would claim a media stunt. Monarchists cannot win against prejudice. That will always be stronger – and gets published in The Age.

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New nastiness from The Age

When it comes to nasty reports on the royal visit to Melbourne, The Age is certainly the source to check.

Of course today's editorial recalls the newspaper's republicanism that has to teach everybody its lesson. And this time it is the politicians to whom The Age addresses the demand to do something against the opinion polls' pointing to a growing number of Monarchists:

It may mean that republicans will have difficulty arousing enthusiasm for the change until her [Queen Elizabeth's] reign is over, but even that is not certain. The chief reason why support for a republic has dropped below 50 per cent in several recent polls is that Australia's political leaders are reluctant to make the case for one.

The Age certainly does not lack enthusiasm for republicanism, but they have not understood that the Australians have an understandable and deep rooted mistrust of politicians.

After this highly successful royal tour one can be certain that the Australian Monarchy will outlive the printed version of The Age.

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Melbourne gives the Queen and the Duke a royal welcome

This Wednesday Melbourne hosted Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness Prince Philip and gave them an enthusiastic welcome.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended a ceremony marking the official opening of the new Royal Children's Hospital, unveiling a plaque and visiting children, family and staff.

They then travelled to Federation Square in Melbourne's CBD to take in an exhibition of Indigenous art at the Ian Potter Gallery.

The square was flooded with thousands of well-wishers, who jostled for the best viewing position. Thousands lined in the streets around Flinders Street Station with no chance of seeing the Royal couple but waited patiently and in very good spirits.


The Royal couple received the adoration of the crowd and spent twenty minutes at Federation Square walking a red carpet, talking to the people and accepting gifts of flowers and little toys. One boy had written a letter for Prince Charles since he attends the same school as Prince Charles did, Geelong Grammar.

The crowd burst out in singing Australia's Royal Anthem, God save the Queen!

The Royal couple also boarded a specially designed red and white tram, which travelled along St Kilda Road to Government House. The Queen's tram will be decorated for a year and will rotate on most routes.

Royal supporters lined the route, waving Australian and British flags.


Even The Age managed a reasonably courteous article, written by the republican journalist Michael Shmith: Long may Melbourne's royal reminders reign: "Doing away with monarchy's monuments would be madness - even for a republic."

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"It's almost a coming home for the Queen
she has a huge fondness for Australia"

After the outburst of joy and enthusiasm shown by the Australian people during the first six days of Her Majesty's tour, The Daily Telegraph denied the idea that the Queen of Australia and the Duke of Edinburgh might have been on a final trip to Australia.

While some reports have suggested that this, the Queen's 16th visit to Australia during her reign, could be her last, the Palace spokesman said the tour did not have the atmosphere of a final farewell.

"It's almost a coming home for the Queen she has a huge fondness for Australia, a lot of Australians have worked in her household," she said.

"There's no sense at all of 'Thank you and goodbye'."

On Tuesday, 26th October the Queen laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

After being greeted by hundreds of well-wishers who braved the chilly temperatures and persistent rain to catch a glimpse of the royal couple, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh walked to the memorial's impressive Hall of Memories for a ceremony to remember Australia's fallen soldiers.

There, the Queen placed a wreath of poppies on the tomb. As the sovereign laid the floral tribute on a stand a single paper poppy fell to the floor and she took a few steps back and bowed her head.

The Last Post was then sounded and the official party, including General Peter Cosgrove, the chairman of the Australian War Memorial and former head of the Armed Forces, observed a minute's silence.

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