The historic Borambola homestead already has one royal connection, and its owners would love the upcoming Commonwealth Games to present the opportunity to forge a new one.
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Tim McMullen and Naomi Miller, who own Borambola Wines, would like to see the Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla – the Duchess of Cornwall – pay a visit, just as Prince Charles’s great uncle, King Edward VIII once did.
Mr McMullen said King Edward VIII visited the homestead last century, before he was crowned, and would love to extend an invitation to Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, to follow his great uncle’s example.
The royal couple will be in Australia for the Commonwealth Games, which are due to be held in Queensland in April 2018, as the Queen’s representatives.
Ahead of the games, which will begin with the opening ceremony on April 4, the Queen’s Baton is due to begin a 100-day tour of Australia on Christmas Day and will arrive in Wagga on January 28, 2018.
While the McMullen family would welcome a royal visit, they would also be happy to make a special gift of some of the winery’s Borambola VIII sparkling brut.
The ‘VIII’ is an homage to the king’s visit and the wine’s label features the illustration of a slightly tilted and tipsy-looking crown.
King Edward VIII, who created a constitutional crisis when he gave up the throne in 1936 so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, visited Australia in 1920, as part of a world tour to thank the nations of the British Empire for their sacrifice during World War I.
Representing his father, George V, the then-Prince of Wales visited Australia between late May and mid-August 1920.
“He was known during that visit as the Diggers’ prince,” Mr McMullen said.
It was during that particular trip that the then-prince stayed at Borambola Homestead, which dates back to the 1880s, when it was the centre of a pastoral empire of about 1.4 million acres (about 566,560 hectares).
Among Borambola’s other owners was F.W. Hughes, who used the property to breed horses, including 1947 Melbourne Cup winner Hiraji, Mr McMullen said.
Borambola has been home to the McMullen family since 1992.