Queen to lunch in Canberra with Goeffrey Rush, the man who played her father's speech therapist

Queen to dine with Australian icons

Updated October 23, 2011 08:46:18

Photo: Queen Elizabeth inspecting the guard at the Presentation of Colours at the Royal Military College Duntroon in Canberra yesterday.

 

The Queen will go to church today before attending a lunch at Government House in Canberra where one of the guests will be Australian Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush, who played the monarch's father's speech therapist in a 2010 movie.

Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh will attend the service at St John's in the Canberra suburb of Reid around 11.15am (AEDT).

It will be the Queen's sixth visit to the historic Anglican church dedicated to St John the Baptist, which was consecrated in 1845 and predates the nation's capital by 70 years.

About 120 people will be in the specially-invited congregation.

However, crowds are expected outside the church for one of the few remaining opportunities to see the Queen in Canberra.

After the service, the royal couple return to Government House, where Governor-General Quentin Bryce will host a lunch for 50 guests in their honour.

The 50 guests attending the luncheon represent a wide cross-section of Australian society, including figures from sport, the arts and the community sector.

The founder of the Addis Abbaba Fistula Hospital, Dr Catherine Hamlin, will attend, as will Rush, who starred in The King's Speech.

The historical drama is about Australian speech therapist Lionel Logue, who helped King George VI to cope with a stammer which had afflicted him since childhood.

With Logue's support, the film shows the Queen's father, played by Colin Firth, delivering the most important speech of his life - Britain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939.

Firth was awarded the best actor Oscar for his role.

Paralympian Kurt Fearnley, the 30-year-old marathon man of wheelchair sports, who crawled the Kokoda Track in 2009, and his wife Sheridan will also be at the invitation-only lunch.

The Royal couple have been enjoying a warm response from the public during a series of engagements including yesterday's garden party at Duntroon, following the Royal Military College's Presentation of Colours ceremony.

The Duke of Endinburgh also hosted a reception for the Commonwealth Studies Conference yesterday evening.

After today's events, the Queen and Prince Philip will prepare for a trip to Brisbane on Monday where they will attend a reception for people who were affected by the floods and cyclone last summer.
Their final day in Canberra will on Tuesday, after which they visit Melbourne on Wednesday before flying in the afternoon to Perth.

ABC/AAP