Royal Visits to the Show

DESCRIPTION

For over 150 years, the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW has had a strong connection with the royal family. This relationship was formalised in 1891, when royal assent was granted to the Society by Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Since then, several monarchs have ascended the throne and many more members of the royal family have visited our grounds, to attend the Show or for other purposes. These events can be traced back through the RAS Heritage Centre’s records.

Year	Name(s)	Details
1870	Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh	Visited the Show in an unofficial capacity. Newspapers report that he was so impressed by the exhibition that he allowed his pet elephant ‘Tom’ to be shown there for a period, as an additional wonder for the public.
1927	Prince Albert, Duke of York and the Duchess of York, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon	Visited the Show in first ever official Royal visit. The couple were in Australia to open the provisional Parliament House in Canberra.
1959	Princess Alexandra of Kent	Visited the Show while in Australia for the Queensland State Centenary.
1965	Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester	The first Royal to officially open the Show. Prince Henry served as Australia’s Governor General 1945-1947 but never opened a Show in this capacity due to the military occupation of the Showground during this time.
1970	Queen Elizabeth II Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh Princess Anne, Princess Royal Prince Charles, Prince of Wales	Visited the Show as part of their extensive tour of Australia in 1970 in connection with the bicentenary of Captain James Cook sailing up the east coast of Australia. The Society's horse-drawn caleche was first used that year to carry the royal family to the Main Arena where they officially opened the 1970 Show.
1971	Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh	Visited the Show as part of his visit to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force.
1981	Prince Charles, Prince of Wales	Visited the Show and competed in the polo. The Prince was in Australia to open the 50th Anniversary Convention of Apex Clubs in Australia.
1988	Princess Anne, Princess Royal	Opened the Show. The Princess was in Australia to celebrate the nation’s bicentenary.
2014	Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and the Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine	Visited the Show as part of a planned royal tour to Australia. The couple opened the Southee and Badgery Pavilion.
2022	Princess Anne, Princess Royal	Opened the Show with the participation of the Australian Defence Force, including Australia’s Federation Guard and the defence band. Princess Anne was escorted by the NSW Mounted Police as she made her way into the stadium in a horse-drawn caleche.

Note: The Queen visited the Showground in 1954, but finished up her Australian tour (3 February - 1 April 1954) before the start of the Show.

Queen Elizabeth visits the 1970 Sydney Royal Easter Show.

RAS Heritage Collection

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Royal Visits to the Show