The Duke of York in Melbourne for the start of his 11-day tour of Australia

The Duke of York has arrived in Melbourne as he begins an 11-day visit to Australia where he will take part in the Australian leg of his Pitch@Palace initiative.

Prince Andrew’s first engagement in the country was at Government House soon after landing, where he had dinner with dignitaries.

The sixth-in-line will soon 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 main purpose of His Royal Highness’ trip down under is to find entrepreneurs of the future for the Duke’s Pitch@Palace event.

This is a scheme organised by Prince Andrew, and it gives support, advice, and mentorship to budding entrepreneurs. If those entrepreneurs make a successful pitch to a panel of judges, then they are invited to go on a boot camp and receive advice on how to hone their pitch – so when faced with a situation like ‘Dragons Den’,  they can answer with confidence and give a reasoned response.

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

Should the entrepreneurs’ pitches to the Prince be successful, they will be jetted off to London where they will present at St James’s Palace in front of potential investors.

Royal Central will bring you continuous and up to date coverage of the Duke of York’s visit to Australia.