Gillard under fire from royalists

Barnaby Joyce, for one, believes the Queen is bringing an overdue sense of decorum to the political stage.

Even if that doesn't include a prime ministerial curtsy.

Julia Gillard and ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher are under fire from some royalists for not greeting the Queen on Wednesday evening in the manner which they believe is customary.

Both leaders shook hands with the Queen on her arrival in Canberra, a permissible protocol.

The Governor-General Quentin Bryce curtsied.

Senator Joyce says the issue is not a big deal.

Instead, he's pleased politicians have begun behaving like "human beings and adults''.

"You see our nation and our politicians at their best, because they start following civil protocols,'' he told Sky News of the official welcome.

"If nothing else, everybody admires that, they like seeing us all acting like that just for a day.''

The Queen and Prince Philip will take a boat ride on Lake Burley Griffin and visit Canberra's famous flower festival on Thursday morning.

The Queen will receive Ms Bryce formally at Government House today.

The royal couple will take a barge trip from there to Commonwealth Park where they will receive a private tour of the Floriade and its flower displays, which have been getting a special spruce-up in honour of the occasion.

- AAP