hellomagazine.com

QUEEN RECEIVES BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE DOWN UNDER

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16 MARCH 2006

The Queen was left with little doubt about the affection in which she is held by her Australian subjects after she opened the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday. A huge crowd of over 80,000 sports fans joined together with opera legend Dame Kiri Te Kanawa to sing Happy Birthday to the monarch in Melbourne's famous cricket ground.

Her Majesty received the tribute, which came ahead of her 80th birthday next month, on the final day of her four-day visit to Australia. A spectacular fireworks display then lit up the sky over the city as lavish celebrations to mark the beginning of the event got underway.

The sovereign, who first visited the country as a young bride over 50 years ago, also got the chance to boost the spirits of one of her Antipodean subjects. Swimming champion Ian Thorpe, who was forced to pull out of the competition because of illness, revealed the visiting royal managed to put a smile back on his face.

"At least you're giving someone else a chance," she said to the five-times Olympic gold medallist, who is currently battling bronchitis. "She said to me, 'I hear you have been unwell, it's unfortunate you can't compete'," he said. "When I told her I had bronchitis, she said 'viruses are horrible'."

Although many political commentators now see it as inevitable that Australia will one day become a republic, the rapturous reception the monarch received at each stop on her latest tour made it clear she is still as popular as ever. The Queen also hinted, by calling on the Australian people to "reflect on wider horizons", that a change in her status would not affect her fondness for the country.