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29 March 2024

Royal wedding to boost flying doctors

Prince William and his fiancee Kate Middleton. (AFP)

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The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) is one of only three charities outside the UK to benefit from the upcoming royal wedding.

Prince William and Kate Middleton have chosen the RFDS to receive money from a gift fund established for the wedding.

The gift fund is for people wanting to extend their best wishes to the couple through a donation instead of a wedding present.

The announcement comes ahead of Prince William's visit to the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Cairns in far north Queensland this weekend, as part of his three-day tour of flood affected areas in Queensland and Victoria.

The RFDS is a non-profit organisation providing 270,000 patient consultations around Australia each year.

The national chairman of the RFDS, Major General Michael Jeffery, says it is an honour to be chosen as a beneficiary.

Sausage sizzle

Meanwhile, specially-made sausages from locally produced beef await Prince William for his visit to disaster-ravaged Cardwell, south of Cairns.

Local butcher Callan Ihle has been making 1,500 sausages from Bingil Bay beef over the past two days.

He says excitement is mounting for the royal visit.

"Business has been great for us the last couple of days and everyone has been coming in and talking about it," he said.

"Everyone's really excited - it's been kept pretty quiet at the moment, so no-one really knows what's happening.

"Even neighbouring towns are talking about coming up here, so it should be a big day for Cardwell on Saturday."