THE Queen yesterday ended a 16-day tour of Australia in which she
charmed royalists and republicans with artful statesmanship, including
repeated acknowledgement of the inevitability of constitutional change.
It was a visit surprisingly free of republican animosity. The results of last
November's referendum, when 55 per cent of the country voted to keep the
existing constitutional arrangements, followed months of vitriolic anti-royalist
rhetoric. While the result fell well short of ensuring the future of the monarchy
in Australia, scares over possible anti-British demonstrations during her visit
proved ill-founded.
The Queen left for Britain from Perth, having travelled many thousands of
miles, visiting four of Australia's six states and both territories. In an effort to
bridge the country's other main divide - between city and bush - she went to
several rural areas. It was with considerable relief to the Palace that there
were only a couple of minor security scares.
A man with a kitchen knife strapped to his thigh was arrested shortly before
she arrived in Sydney at the start of the tour, while in Tasmania, Prince Philip
had a close encounter with a flying tomato that clipped the brim of his Panama
hat.
Before boarding a Qantas scheduled flight, the Queen opened a surgical
training centre at the University of Western Australia and inspected the Swan
Bells Millennium Project involving the construction of a seven-storey
belltower for a peal of bells originally from the Church of St
Martin-in-the-Fields, the parish church for Buckingham Palace.
The Queen and the Prince then attended a ceremonial farewell, where her
attempt to light a flame of remembrance hit a minor hiccup when the fuse cut
out. A soldier saved the day by lighting the flame with a torch attached to a
lance. Even the most ardent republican politicians and press have been unable
to criticise the Queen.
Newspapers were eager to emphasise that there was nothing personal in their
push for a home-grown head of state. The Australian newspaper said in an
editorial yesterday: "As Elizabeth II departs our shores, we are grateful for her
constitutional pragmatism and the impetus it gives for us to make up our own
minds."
The Queen set the tone at her much-admired keynote speech in Sydney two
weeks ago when she told her audience that the future of the monarchy was a
matter entirely for Australians to decide. She said: "Whatever the future may
bring, my lasting respect and deep affection for Australia and Australians
everywhere will remain as strong as ever."
In her final speech, at a state reception at Government House in Perth on
Friday, she again alluded to the changes ahead and expressed her gratitude to
all her hosts, including those opposed to the monarchy who had nevertheless
treated her with courtesy.
She said: "Prince Philip and I have been given the warmest of welcomes from
everybody we have met, whatever views and aspirations they might have for
the future of this country." The crowds were largest in the monarchist state of
Tasmania and in rural Victoria, but everywhere she went she received a warm
and substantial welcome.
There were a couple of token protests, the biggest of which involved 20
animal rights activists demanding an end to live exports. "God Save Our
Queen. God Help Our Sheep," their banners read. Most who turned out to
greet the Queen were of the older generation, among them many who arrived
in Australia from Britain as "£10 Poms".
But there were also many children. Those youngsters, who will perhaps grow
up to be adults in a fully-fledged Republic of Australia, will surely never forget
the day that they presented flowers to the Queen.
~*~
Swearing put Queen and Prince off
theatre(Electronic Telegraph)
By Catherine Milner, Arts Correspondent
THE increasing incidence of bad language in modern plays has so
embarrassed the Queen and Prince Philip that they have stopped going to the
theatre.
The Duke has disclosed that they felt uncomfortable because every time a
swear word was uttered during the play the audience would look at them to
see their reaction. In an interview with Joanna Lumley, he said: "We used to
be great theatre-goers.
"Until we got into the sort of kitchen-sink theatre business . . . and the awful
thing that would happen when we went to those slightly doubtful plays was
that if anybody mentioned a four-letter word or anything the whole theatre
turned round to see how we felt."
He compared the sensation to the famous Bateman cartoons that show
people recoiling when someone commits a social gaffe. He said: "It did rather
put us off." Prince Philip made the disclosure while talking about his art
collection for a Channel 5 programme, to be broadcast on Easter Sunday.
Although viewers will not see him speak about his discomfort in the theatre - it
was edited out of the final version - they will hear him joke about how he tried
to retrieve a picture from the Louvre that once belonged to King Charles I.
He recalls that during a state visit to Paris he turned over one of the paintings
hanging in the museum and saw the initials CR - the mark of Charles I - burnt
into the frame.
He said: "So I said to the Queen, shall we take it back? There was absolute
consternation." It is the first time the Prince has discussed personal matters,
such as his theatre-going, on television. He is filmed in the sitting-room of
Wood Farm, the small red-brick cottage on the Sandringham estate where
the Royal Family stay when they do not want to occupy the "Big House".
In the programme, originally offered to the BBC but turned down on the
grounds that it would not interest viewers, the Duke says: "I've been a
compulsive collector ever since I was at school. I think if you live in houses
which are full of nice things, beautiful things, lovely pictures, you grow up
appreciating them."
~*~
Rainforest was hacked back for Prince's
visit(electronic Telegraph)
By David Harrison, Environment Correspondent at Kaieteur Falls, Guyana
SCORES of rainforest trees and plants were chopped down to clear a path
for the Prince of Wales, a committed environmentalist, when he made a trip to
highlight the importance of conservation.
Tour guides around the spectacular Kaieteur Falls in western Guyana said
forest officials had ordered workers to "tidy up" a quarter-mile path from the
airstrip at Kaieteur to the falls to make the walk "more comfortable" for the
Royal guest. But they said the workers had gone too far.
One guide, an indigenous Amerindian, pointed out the stumps of trees
stretching 50 yards either side of the forest path. He said: "They got
completely carried away. They might have had to cut back a few trees and
bushes to clear the route but there was no need for all this.
"They were obviously trying to impress the Prince and no doubt meant well
but they chopped down a lot of ancient trees. It's very regrettable and goes
against everything we are trying to achieve here." The Prince of Wales was
unaware that the trees had been felled ahead of his visit to Guyana at the end
of February.
A spokesman said: "We would never ask for anything like this. We always
want things to look as natural as possible for Royal visits, although people
often like to tidy up a bit before the visit. The Prince of Wales is very
concerned about preserving the rainforest - that's what he was there for."
The spokesman said that officials at the British High Commission in the
Guyanese capital Georgetown had "heard something about a path being
cleared" but they had not asked for it to be done. Another member of the
Royal household said: "The Prince will be very unhappy about this.
"His visits to places such as Guyana are meant to highlight the importance of
conservation, not prompt the destruction of the world's most valuable forests."
The tree-felling is embarrassing for the Guyanese government, which was
thrilled with the Prince's visit.
They felt it highlighted Guyana's efforts to conserve the rainforest, keeping
logging to a minimum and encouraging only a limited amount of "eco-tourism".
Aware that the Prince is an influential voice in world conservation, the
government took pains to make his stay as comfortable as possible. At
Kaieteur, white lines were painted on the landing strip and lavatories erected.
The area around the falls, which plunge 822ft into the river Potaro, is home to
an orange-crested bird called the cock of the rock as well as the tiny "golden
frog". Eighty per cent of Guyana - a country the size of Britain but with a
population of fewer than one million - is covered by virgin rainforest, which
contains an abundance of wildlife, including jaguar, puma, caimans, monkeys
and hundreds of species of birds.
~*~
Prince is pub karaoke king(Evening Standard)
Prince William gave his own version of a Royal Command
Performance when he took part in a karaoke competition
in a hotel bar, it has emerged.
The normally shy 17-year-old joined three classmates
from Eton for a version of the Village People classic
YMCA at the Crossways Hotel in Thornley, County
Durham.
Hotel owner John Hudson said: ""William and his friends
took centre stage for one of the songs and they all seemed
to thoroughly enjoy themselves. William just acted like one
of the crowd. He's a very polite, quiet and likeable young
man."
He added: "William and 40 other boys from Eton were
staying here during an A-level geography trip to the area.
On Thursday night we were holding our usual karaoke
evening when William leant over to me and suggested we
make it into a challenge match - with the Eton pupils
representing the South and our regulars representing the
North.
"I was a bit surprised but delighted by his suggestion. It
was a keenly-fought competition but in the end I decided,
rather diplomatically, to call it a draw."
The Eton pupils and their five teachers were staying at the
two-star Crossways Hotel for a four-day field trip. Each
day they visited sites, including an inner-city estate in
Newcastle upon Tyne and an ICI plant on Teesside, as
part of their A-level coursework.
But in the evening, the boys were allowed to join regulars
in the bar for an hour before bed.
Mr Hudson said: "The behaviour of the boys was
impeccable. They got on splendidly with the locals and
there was certainly no drunkenness or bad behaviour.
William and his friends were very good and got a huge
cheer when they finished. They didn't do the actions to the
song because they seemed to be concentrating on the
words too hard."
A spokeswoman for St James's Palace said: "Prince
William has been on a geography field trip in that area and
he has been on school time."
She added that it would be "churlish" to deny that the
young prince took part in the karaoke session but would
give no further comment as he was on his own private
time.