The Danish King Frederik and Aussie-born Queen Mary touched down in the Queen’s home state of Tasmania for the first official time in over twenty years, with Queen Mary holding up a lobster as her husband shot a pic.
In the last leg of their official Australian tour, the Queen rocked the royal visit to Hobart’s Government House in a cream jacket over an orange floral dress. She was pictured laughing beside King Frederik as they were led by Governor Barbara Baker on a tour of the grand Victorian grounds.
The royals were welcomed onto the 15-hectare estate with a traditional cleansing ceremony by representatives of a local Aboriginal community, Fiona Maher and her daughter Mona Hart.
The local artists wore clothing made by a local Tasmanian brand, Lutruwita The Label.
From Hobart’s historic Government House, the pair were due to listen to the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems and travelled by boat along the River Derwent to stop at Alum Cliffs Marine Reserve.
Attending the engagement were Premier Jeremy Rockliff and University of Tasmania vice-chancellor Rufus Black, as well as members working on a project to conserve giant kelp forests from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS).
With the fair weather, the royals dipped their toes into discovering some sea creatures, as, on their stop at Alum Cliffs, they were shown samples of the giant kelp and the invasive long-spined sea urchin.
King Frederick even got behind his phone camera to take a cute picture of the Tasmanian homegrown queen posing beside a large lobster before it was released back into the water.
Queen Mary remarked that the trip on the Noctiluca boat “couldn’t have been a more perfect day,” as they sailed past her former school, Taroona High School.
The Queen, who hasn’t been back in Tasmania since 2005, said that “some good memories popped up” from passing the school.
Next on their busy schedule, the Danish royals unveiled a plaque to commemorate their visit to the sustainable shipping ferry company Incat.
Visiting with them, Anthony Albanese was pictured smiling beside the King as Incats managing director and honorary consul for Denmark, Craig Clifford, also in attendance.
The Incat shipyard, situated in Hobart, is building the world’s largest battery-powered ships for Danish operator Molslinjen, leading a program of advanced aluminium electric shipbuilding.
From 4:30pm Thursday, Tasmanians will get a chance to meet and greet with the visiting royals along Hobart’s historic waterfront, Hunter Street, renowned for its historic buildings, with bollards established and closing off the road to traffic.
“This is a significant national event, and it’s fitting for Tasmanians to be able to welcome Queen Mary home in person,” said Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff.
Their majesties will wrap up their Australian trip with a final state reception hosted by Tasmanian Governor, Barbara Baker.