King Charles and Queen Camilla received the warmest of welcomes on their first full day of engagements in Australia – from the sun that finally came out, to the crowds on the streets.
Handed armfuls of flowers, toy koalas and even some kangaroo jerky, the couple were repeatedly thanked for making the long journey over, particularly in light of His Majesty’s on-going cancer treatment.
Arriving at St Thomas’ Anglican Church in North Sydney in the morning the royal duo, who enjoyed a down day yesterday after their gruelling flight, were met with loud cheers from the hundreds of well-wishers, drowning out a handful of protestors with a ‘decolonise’ banner calling for indigneous rights and waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags.
A handful of locals shouted ‘get lost’ and ‘get a life’ in frustration, while one man told them: ‘Be thankful you live in a free society where you can argue across the street.’
Fans waiting inside the church grounds – including dozens of Sunday school children – were thrilled to shake hands with the King and Queen, while others described the ongoing republican debate as a ‘bore’.
Afterwards one child delightedly shouted ‘I touched the King!’. ‘It was so good, he was so kind,’ said another little girl.
Camilla, wearing a pale green Anna Valentine dress and straw hat, was gifted a posy before they were received by the Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Reverend Kanishka Raffel and the Bishop of North Sydney, Right Reverend Chris Edwards.
Inside, the Archbishop highlighted St Thomas’ royal history before the Reverend Michael Mantle, Rector of the Parish of North Sydney started by welcoming the royal guests, saying: ‘It is an enormous honour for us to welcome you to our church this morning.’
The theme of the service was ‘The Good News About Jesus’ and featured hymns Rejoice the Lord is King, Tell Out, My Soul and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.
Throughout the service, a lone flute could be heard from outside playing ‘God Save the King’.
Speaking afterwards professional flutist Minah Kim said she only learnt the piece this morning while standing on the lawn outside St Thomas’.
At the conclusion of the hour-long service, the King and Queen were wished safe travels for the rest of their trip before they made their way to the front where they signed Australia’s first Bible and a book of common prayer.
Every member of the Royal Family has signed the Bible, which belonged to Rev Richard Johnson, the first Christian Minister in Australia, on previous royal visits.
The late Queen Elizabeth signed it in 1954 during the first visit of a reigning monarch to these shores, with the Archbishop saying the Bible ‘represents a significant history of this church and nation’.
The King, who looked remarkably well, alluded to his inevitable jet-lag as he signed, joking: ‘What day is it again?’ and chuckling.
Stepping outside to loud cheers from the hundreds gathered on the lawn opposite the church, the King waved before walking over to speak to members of the public.
Some well-wishers said they had begun queuing at 5am to get a prime spot to see the couple, with others in the crowd flying in from other parts of Australia especially.
Charles said to one person: ‘It’s a beautiful day’ as several others shouted: ‘We love you.
Another said to the Queen: ‘Hello, I hope your jet leg is getting better’ before the pair spoke about the perils of long-haul travel.
‘We have it the same when we come to the UK,’ Helen Hetrelezis told Camilla.
She had arrived at the church at 7:45 am with her brothers to try and catch a glimpse of Their Majesties.
‘We spoke about her visit, I asked the queen about her stay, and she said she was enjoying Sydney very much,’ she said.
They spent 15 minutes meeting the hundreds of members of the public gathered to welcome Their Majesties, and even asked their security if they could walk over to the crowds gathered opposite the church before they left.
Benjamin was delighted to meet the King, saying it was ‘a once in a lifetime opportunity, I feel grateful for having to meet him.’
As they moved along the crowds, spontaneous rounds of three cheers erupted from the crowds and people continued to whoop and cheer.
Abigail Smith, 10, in her Scouts uniform, gave the King a special present.
She said: ‘I drew a picture of a kangaroo and gave it to him.
‘He said ‘you are very kind’.
‘I did it because the kangaroo is an Australian animal.
‘I think he liked it.’
Joe Ackland, 48, of Melbourne, added: ‘It was amazing. I asked him if he would be going to go surfing or swimming on Manley Beach and he said ‘if I was a younger man!’ ‘
Dozens of well-wishers handed gifts to Their Majesties, including Tunnock’s Tea Cakes, Kangaroo jerky and bouquets of flowers.
The Queen has requested all of the flowers be taken to Admiralty House, where they are staying while in Sydney.
Another lady said excitedly: ‘I shook his hand.
‘I’m absolutely thrilled that he is here in our neck of the woods.
‘He looks in great health.’
Valerie Malinowski, who is 75, joked that she had had ‘a crush’ on Charles since they were both 15, but had never met him before.
‘We want to make him feel welcome,’ she said. ‘There’s a lot of negativity sometimes, but he is very very welcome and very loved.’
Also in the crowd were Sinclair and Wendy Hill, old friends of the King who have hosted him at their home in Australia.
Mr Hill, who is described as Australia’s greatest ever polo player, was asked by Prince Philip to teach the young Charles, and has kept up a warm friendship ever since.
Mrs Hill, whom the King greeted with a kiss on each cheek, said afterwards: ‘He is a lovely man and the fact that he has not been well and still came… The effort he puts in to talk to all these people. I thought he looked terrific.’
Speaking afterwards the Archbishop said: ‘It’s been a great pleasure and privilege to have their majesties with us here at St Thomas’, North Sydney.
‘This church has a family connection with His Majesty because his great grandfather as a teenage boy laid the cornerstone.’
He added: ‘It was lovely for this local church to be able to welcome the sovereign King Charles and Queen Camilla to join us in worship today we are absolutely thrilled.
‘There has been a great feel.
‘People are very happy to see them and they received a very generous, warm welcome.
‘And Their Majesties were also very generous in greeting lots of people soon after their jet lag.’
The church presented the royal visitors with gifts including a rugby ball, cricket ball and toy koala for them to take home for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Later The King undertook his first major ceremonial duty – and an impromptu royal walkabout – in Australia today as he visited the New South Wales Legislative Council to mark its bicentenary.
The passing of time was clearly on the King’s mind as he remarked on the ‘slightly worrying’ fact that he first came to the country nearly sixty years ago.
Looking chipper despite the long journey Down Under, however, he also appeared delighted to hand over a gift of an hourglass to the mark the occasion, and spoke of his joy at returning as King having last visited the NSW parliamentary building in 1974, saying: ‘With the sands of time encouraging brevity, it just remains for me to say what a great joy it is to come to Australia for the first time as Sovereign, and to renew a love of this country and its people which I have cherished for so long.
‘So, thank you, thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen for making me feel so very welcome.’
He then asked the President of the Legislative Council, The Honourable Ben Franklin, if he could give the hourglass a spin for the good luck.
Charles, 75, who was not accompanied by the queen, was greeted by a line-up of dignitaries at the parliamentary building.
Outside was crowd of several-hundred well-wishers – a fairly substantial gathering as the engagement hadn’t been advertised in advance.
Inside he was shown a large piece of artwork by artist Kim Healey, the first by an indigenous artist to be displayed in the building.
‘It’s actually painted?’ he asked, marveling at the brushstrokes of the striking piece.
At a reception and lunch for state representatives in the Strangers’ Dining Room the King was introduced with a fanfare and walked in on a red carpet in a ceremonial procession and people craned to get a glimpse or grab a picture of him.
In a short speech on stage, the king said: ‘Having been with you for your 150th Anniversary, I am delighted – and proud – to be able to return to the Parliament of New South Wales in order to celebrate the occasion of your bicentenary.
‘I will be saying more at a reception in Canberra tomorrow, but I cannot let this opportunity pass without saying a few words to mark this most important milestone.
‘It is fascinating, I think, to reflect back to 200 years ago. Thinking about those times makes one wonder what that inaugural handful of members of the New South Wales Legislative Council would make of this Parliament today and of how this great State has progressed.’
He concluded: ‘Since I was here in 1974, and incidentally I first came to Oz nearly 60 hrs ago, which is slightly worrying — this place and the people within it — have continued to uphold strong representative traditions.
‘To everyone who has been a part of this, I can only offer my warmest congratulations.
And in the spirit of marking the passage of time, it is my great pleasure to present a small gift to the Parliament.
‘It is in fact an hourglass — a speech timer — to sit in the chamber and bear witness to the Legislative Council’s next chapter. ‘
Afterwards he was introduced to senior legislative officials, the indigenous artist whose work he had admired, as well as the winner of a regional public speaking contest.
As he left the building, the king suddenly took off across the road to the cheers of well-wishers waiting to see him.
Many were there by chance and complained loudly about the lack of publicity around the event, as well as many other forthcoming engagements.
One, Robert, a fan of the Mail’s Palace Confidential programme, said: ‘We are not a nation of republicans, we love the monarchy and are overjoyed about them being here. They [local officials] have been very secretive about what they are doing and most people are here by chance. The people will come out to greet them warmly if they let us.’
As the king went up and down the crowd shaking hands he was greeted with choruses of ‘welcome back’, ‘great to see you’ and ‘thank you for coming’.
‘It’s fantastic to be here,’ he said. ‘I am so pleased to be back.’
Gerald and Christine Fletcher, from Jersey, who are on holiday in Australia, also stumbled across the engagement by chance.
Mr Fletcher told the King: ‘Welcome back. We are from the UK, all the way here to see you. Well done for coming. ‘
‘I am so glad to be here,’ said the King.
‘Did you come on one of those big cruise ships?
‘No, we came on a big aeroplane!’ joked Mr Fletcher.
‘It really is lovely to see you, well done.’
Afterwards he explained: ‘Ironically we missed them when they came to Jersey recently so it amazing to see them all the way over here. We just happened to be walking past and saw a bit of a commotion and asked the policeman if the King was here. He said ‘you’re lucky, he’s just about to come out’. ‘
Mrs Fletcher added: ‘What a wonderful to moment to get to talk to him. He looked well. Good on him for coming out here with everything that is happened to him. ‘
The King and Queen also held audiences with the Governor General at Admiralty House, her official residence where they are also staying, as well as the Governor or New South Wales.
