New details on public holiday revealed ahead of memorial service

Anthony Albanese has unveiled fresh details about Thursday’s public holiday service to commemorate the life of Queen Elizabeth II.

Australia will say its final goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II this week in a service which will include performances by the Australian Girls Choir and Anthony Callea.

Thursday’s service, to be held at Parliament House in Canberra, will be the centrepiece of the national day of mourning, marked by a one-off public holiday.

Premiers and chief ministers, High Court justices and federal parliamentarians have all been invited to the service, which will be led by television presenter Melissa Doyle.

Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will offer short tributes to the late monarch.

A memorial service will be held on the National Day of Mourning in Australia, Photo by Niklas HALLE'N / AFP

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and partner Jodie Haydon left flowers as a tribute to the Queen while in London. Picture: PMO via NCA NewsWire

“(It) is an opportunity for all Australians to pay respect to our faithful monarch for the past 70 years, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” Mr Albanese said.

Australians are being urged to “reflect” on the monarch’s “remarkable life of dedication and service” with a one minute’s silence at 11am.

“The Queen lived her life with an air of dignity and grace that will be remembered for centuries to come,” he added.

It’s understood AIRA award winner Mr Callea – who sung for the Queen in Sydney in 2006 – has been drafted to sing the national anthem and ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ from the musical Carousel at the service.

It comes after the state funeral for the monarch was held on Monday. Picture: Ben Birchall / POOL / AFP

The Australian Girls Choir is expected to perform a Psalm 23 – the tune used at the 1947 wedding of The Queen and Prince Philip – before closing the ceremony with God Save the King.

An iconic 1954 painting of the Queen by Sir William Dargie – famously referred to as the Wattle Queen – will be the centrepiece of the service.

Golden wattle, and the Queen’s favourite flowers, sweet peas and dahlias, are also expected to feature prominently in the service.