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Better get your name in quick.
The ACT is conducting a ballot to randomly select 250 lucky Canberrans who will have the chance to welcome the royal couple and baby to the national capital.
It will be open until midday this Tuesday, April 8.
A similar process was undertaken in 2011 when Danish royals, Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik, visited Canberra. But that time, twice as many people - 500 - were allowed to watch Fred and former Tassie girl Mary plant a tree at the National Arboretum Canberra.
This time, 200 Canberrans will be selected to see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George at their arrival at the Fairbairn airport on the afternoon of Easter Sunday, April 20, the royals arriving from Sydney on that day.
They will proceed to Government House and have a rest day in Canberra on April 21 before heading to Uluru.
They will return to Canberra for engagements April 24 and 25.
The remaining 50 people selected from the ballot will see the Duke and Duchess plant an English oak tree at the National Arboretum Canberra on Thursday, April 24. There will also be students representing government and non-government schools at the arboretum planting. These include Giralang Primary, Farrer Primary, Black Mountain School and representatives from the Sea Scouts and STELR Program (Science and Technology Education Leveraging Relevance). Catholic and non-government school organisations have been invited to select their representatives.
Chief Minister Kate Gallagher announced the ballot on Friday.
“We anticipate there will be a huge amount of interest around the visit and we wanted to make sure that there was some opportunity for Canberrans to attend these events with Their Royal Highnesses,” she said.
It will be a rare chance to see the royals up close as both the Fairbairn welcome and the arboretum planting will otherwise be closed to the public. The arboretum will reopen later in the afternoon to allow members of the public to view the tree.
Each person successfully drawn in the ballot will be offered the chance to bring someone with them and the process will continue until the 250-person limit is reached.
Interested Canberrans are encouraged to go online at www.act.gov.au or to call Canberra Connect on 13 22 81 to register their interest in the ballot. Those applicants who are successful in the draw will be advised by mid-April.
“While there are limited places to attend the balloted events, Canberrans can also catch a glimpse of The Duke and Duchess either at the National Portrait Gallery or at the Australian War Memorial during the Anzac Day National Ceremony,” Ms Gallagher said.
