Duke of York set to begin a two-week tour of Australia

The Duke of York will arrive in Australia next week for an 11-day tour of the country.

Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth’s second son, will make a whistlestop tour of Australia’s eastern states when he arrives in the country on Monday.

The sixth-in-line to the throne will arrive in Melbourne on Monday for dinner at Government House.

Following on from the dinner, Andrew will visit the Royal Children’s Hospital and National Gallery located in Victoria. He will also see a traditional an Aboriginal smoking ceremony at RMIT University.

After concluding his visit to Victoria, the Duke will travel to Queensland, arriving in Brisbane on September 21. Here, he will be briefed on the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

The 2018 Commonwealth Games will take place in April next year; 70 Commonwealth nations and territories will be taking part.

The Queen will be represented by Prince Charles who will officially open the games and read out Her Majesty’s customary message which will call upon athletes to come together in the spirit of competition.

The Queen’s message is currently in a baton going on a 388-day journey across all the nations and territories of the Commonwealth. The message launched at Buckingham Palace in March 2017.

Later during his Australian tour, Prince Andrew will visit Sydney and Wollongong.

Some of the other planned engagements that the Duke will partake in include walking on the deck of a Royal Australian Navy ship and laying a wreath at the Shrine of Remembrance.

He will also visit a variety of universities in Southern Australia, meeting entrepreneurs of the future.

Once his visit to Australia comes to an end on September 29, there will be no rest for the Duke as he heads straight to the Middle East for a separate tour of that region.

Both of the Duke’s upcoming visits to Australia and the Middle East centrally revolve around Pitch@Palace, an initiative His Royal Highness launched.

While in the Australia, he will be on the judging panel for the Pitch@Palace regional final.

Pitch@Palace is an initiative that His Royal Highness established in 2014. It was set up to help support entrepreneurs with the “amplification and acceleration of their business ideas.”

This is done by connecting these British-based innovative start-ups with possible investors and supporters. The Duke has previously been active in the Enterprise Education Trust and the Peter Jones Foundation.

Speaking of the programme, the Prince has previously said: “I am immensely proud of the achievements of the Entrepreneurs in the Pitch@Palace programme; they have shone a light on the diversity and imagination across the country, clearly demonstrating that pursuing an idea or dream can be realised with knowledge and determination.”