Queen Elizabeth II ends Australia visit

A child gives Queen Elizabeth II a picture as she walks through the crowd at the Great Aussie Barbecue in Perth, Australia, on Saturday. Photo: AP

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip have ended their Australian visit after tens of thousands of fans bid them farewell at a riverside barbecue.

The 85-year-old British monarch told the huge lunchtime crowd on the Swan River bank in the western coastal city of Perth on Saturday that she will return to London with “fond memories” of her 16th visit to Australia since 1954.

She later took off in a chartered airliner for the 18-hour flight home.

The queen made the 10-day visit to open the biennial meeting of Commonwealth government leaders in Perth on Friday. The 53 countries represented are mostly former colonies of the British empire.