The King and Queen have touched down in Australia for their first tour since taking the throne.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s plane officially landed at Sydney International Airport just after 8.20pm on Friday ahead of a whirlwind five-day tour that begins in the Harbour City before heading to Canberra.
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The 75-year-old regent confidently descended from a RAAF jet, stepping onto Australian soil for the first time in six years with a grin, before being warmly greeted by his Australian representative, Governor-General Sam Mostyn.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns tucked away their republican beliefs, dipping their heads and heartily shaking the sovereign’s hand – and were joined on the tarmac by Albanese’s fiancee Jodie Haydon and Minns’ mother Cara Minns.
Her Majesty was then presented with a posy by the youngest of the Australian contingent, 12-year-old Ky and his sister Charlotte who requested to meet the royals through the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
The beaming boy offered a posy of waratahs to Camilla and discussed the arrangement with Her Majesty, alongside his proud family.
Ky was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) – a rare disorder in which bone marrow fails to produce enough blood cells – at the age of nine, and was saved by a bone marrow donation from his sister.
The royals were soon whisked away in a police motorcade, through the city to a harbourside residence.
The pair are expected to meet privately with Albanese and Haydon at Admiralty House on Friday evening, before a rest day on Saturday with official duties starting on Sunday.
The Sydney Opera House sails were illuminated with pictures of their Majesties ahead of their arrival on Friday night, albeit after a delay caused by the coincidentally named cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth.
The King’s Flag for Australia is also expected to be flown on buildings, planes, cars and ships during the King’s visit.
In Sydney, the King and Queen will attend a community barbecue in Parramatta, where Minns will host a “regional showcase” supported by the NSW Agricultural Society.
The pair will also meet 2024 Australians of the Year Georgina Long and Richard Scolyer, hailed for their pivotal research on melanoma skin cancer, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives.
While in Sydney, the Queen will also visit a library to meet children taking part in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition.
Their Majesties will then travel to Canberra on Monday, where they will visit the Australian War Memorial to lay a wreath and meet members of the public at midday before moving to Parliament House to be formally welcomed by Albanese.
The monarchs will then attend a reception for political and community leaders including Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, and Australians who have excelled in the fields of health, arts, culture and sport.
Fans will be able to see the pair about midday at the For Our Country memorial, which commemorates the military service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
Charles and Camilla will then return to Sydney where the public will be able to see the pair at the Opera House on Tuesday about 4.30pm, before they depart for Samoa on Wednesday to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
The Australian Monarchist League’s Damien De Pyle said it would be a privilege for the nation to welcome the King back to Australia.
“It’s obviously a very special country for him … which is highlighted by the fact that this is the first Commonwealth country he’s visited since becoming King,” he told AAP.
Charles, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of the disease in February, will pause his cancer treatment during his visit and will be travelling with his own doctors. As a result, the itinerary will include a rest day and there will be no evening engagements.
It will be the first trip to Australia by a reigning monarch since 2011, when Queen Elizabeth II visited Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth.
While King Charles has travelled to Australia 15 times, the trip is the couple’s first visit since the British monarch’s coronation in May 2023. They most recently visited in 2018 for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
– with AAP