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Prince William and Duchess Kate grace Governor-General's reception

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Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, were the guests of honour at a special evening reception hosted by Australia's Governor-General on their penultimate day in the country.

The royal couple, whose three-week tour of Australia and New Zealand finishes on Friday, arrived at Government House in Canberra at around 6.30 pm for the formal event, held in their honour.

Prince WIlliam© Photo: Getty Images

Stylish Kate lived up to all expectations, and looked picture perfect in a white cocktail dress by American designer Lela Rose. Her husband looked understandably proud to be her escort on the night.

The reception was hosted by Governor-General Peter Cosgrove at his official residence, located in the suburb of Yarralumla.

It is not the first time that the residence has hosted British royalty; the Queen and other foreign heads of state stay at Government House when on official visits to Canberra.

Kate Middleton© Photo: Getty Images

The Cambridges' penultimate day in Australia proved to be a busy one, with a number of official engagements for the royal couple.It began with a visit to the National Arboretum where they planted an English Oak tree to commemorate their tour, before moving to Parliament House, where Prime Minister Tony Abbott hosted a reception in the Great Hall.

Kate Middleton© Photo: Getty Images
The couple are finishing the royal tour Down Under on Friday

Prince William gave a speech at the event, which was attended by 600 people, during which he said, "Reluctantly, Catherine, George and I leave Australia tomorrow. Thank you for the warmth and generosity that has been shown to us throughout out visit. We go away with wonderful memories, and George goes away with his cuddly wombat which he has taken to chewing so lovingly. "Afterwards, the couple visited the National Portrait Gallery, where they viewed an exhibition of artworks and met with some of the portrait's subjects, all of whom are well-known Australians, who are highly accomplished in their respective fields.

Kate Middleton© Photo: Getty Images

Among the artwork the couple viewed a portrait of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, who was born in Tasmania, which was painted by Jiawei Shen and shows the royal posing in Copenhagen Cathedral in 2004.

Kate selected a bright green coat dress by Catherine Walker for the day's events; it's the second time she has selected the British label during the tour, the first time being a red military coat she wore for her arrival in Wellington, New Zealand.