Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
It may be impossible to believe, but Queen Elizabeth II is the only Australian monarch to ever visit the Commonwealth realm.
That changes this weekend when King Charles III arrives for his first official royal visit as monarch.
Ahead of this historic tour, let’s look back at Queen Elizabeth’s iconic 1954 royal visit and King Charles’s previous visits as Prince of Wales.
The Backdrop:
In January 1952, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were set for a six-month Commonwealth Tour of Australia and New Zealand. But they stopped to visit Nairobi, Kenya first, and then… they had to turn back for the United Kingdom when Queen Elizabeth unexpectedly ascended to the throne on 6 February.
That means that when Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived in Australia on 3 February 1954, it was the first time a reigning monarch had ever step foot on the soil.
Queen Elizabeth’s Successful Australian Tour of 1954
Less than a year after her coronation, Queen Elizabeth touched down in Sydney on 3 February 1954. She would stay until 1 April, criss-crossing the country, visiting the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
Queen Elizabeth II reportedly travelled 10,000 miles by air; drove 2,000 miles on the roads (spending 130 hours in a car); and visited 57 towns and cities, including every capital except Darwin.
When she arrived in Sydney, there was an estimated 1 million people waiting to see her. And those who didn’t dare brave the crowds listened to her arrival on the radio.
A major highlight of her visit includes opening the Australian Parliament—re-wearing her coronation gown—and giving a speech from the throne, where she told the politicians: “The welcome accorded to us on our arrival yesterday was so cordial and spontaneous that we shall always remember it. I look forward with pleasure to the rest of my stay in Australia.”
A Gallery of Events
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Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh arrive in Sydney.
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Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in Canberra after opening the Australian Parliament.
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Queen Elizabeth in Melbourne.
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Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh at a war memorial in Hobart.
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Queen Elizabeth delivering an address from the Outback.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Next Australian Visits
As Queen of Australia, Queen Elizabeth II continued to visit well into the final years of her reign.
Following the 1954 Commonwealth Tour, Queen Elizabeth next visited Australia in 1963 between 18 February and 27 March. She visited Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney, Brisbane, Cooma, Cabramurra, Island Bend, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Darwin (the only capital she hadn’t visited in 1954), Kununurra, Koolan Island, Broome, Geraldton, and Perth.
In the 1970s, Queen Elizabeth visited Australia from 30 March-3 May 1970; 17–22 October 1973; 27–28 February 1974; and 7–23 March and 26–30 March 1977.
In the 1980s, Queen Elizabeth visited Australia from 24–28 May 1980; 26 September – 12 October and 20–21 October 1981; 5–13 October 1982; 2–13 March 1986; and 19 April – 10 May 1988.
In the 1990s, Queen Elizabeth visited Australia from 18–25 February 1992. In the 2000s, Queen Elizabeth II visited Australia between 17 March – 1 April 2000; 27 February – 3 March 2002; and 11–16 March 2006.
Queen Elizabeth II’s final visit to Australia came in 2011, from 19–29 October 2011, which she attended for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
Historically Speaking…
Queen Victoria never stepped foot in Australia; neither did King Edward VII.
King George V did, back when he was still receiving naval training aboard the HMS Bacchante, and then again when he was Duke of Cornwall and York.
Edward VIII visited as Prince of Wales. George VI visited as Duke of York. After the Second World War, Buckingham Palace drew up plans for King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and their two daughters to visit in 1948, but owing to the King’s ill health, the trip was scuttled.