The Royal couple have been greeted by a sea of 45,000 well-wishers at the South Bank cultural precinct.

People young and old took advantage of a perfect Queensland spring day to catch a glimpse of the Royal pair.

Nicholas Chin reports.

TRANSCRIPT

It’s been almost a decade since the Queen’s last visit to Brisbane and locals weren’t going to miss the opportunity to see her.

Young and old excited fans lined the banks of the Brisbane River, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Queen.

The crowd was thickest at South Bank, where tens of thousands gave a warm Queensland welcome – a welcome Her Majesty enjoyed.

The Queen: “Today Prince Phillip and I have been greeted with great warmth and good humour in the true Australian spirit.”

Most people believe today’s visit will be the last opportunity to see Queen Elizabeth.

Vox 1: “I’ve never seen her before and it will probably be the last visit she makes to Australia.”

Vox 2: “Well, it’s probably the last chance I have before she passes away so I wanted to see her.”

Vox 3: “I’ve had a few opportunities to see her but I haven’t taken advantage of them and this is probably her last visit to Australia.
Despite the event falling on a school day, thousands of children skipped school to witness the once in a lifetime experience.”

With the OK from the Education Minister.

Vox 4: “The Education Minister said it was ok so I thought that’s fine then because they will never have this opportunity again.”

With people of all ages cheering and waving like this, it really is a reception fit for a Queen.

Vox 5: “She was so beautiful, she almost made me cry.”

The Queen returns to Canberra tonight before visiting Melbourne and Perth, where she’ll officially open the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

Nicholas Chin, QUT News.