The King and Queen have embarked on their Autumn tour of Australia and Samoa, by arriving in their first destination – Sydney.
This will be the biggest trip conducted by The King since announcing his cancer diagnosis earlier this year. This won’t however be the first foreign visit for His Majesty in 2024, who attended the 80th anniversary events to commemorate D-Day earlier this year.
While this is Charles’ 17th visit Down Under, it is the first time Australia have had a visit from a King, with Elizabeth II being the first reigning Monarch of Australia to visit in 1954, a year after her Coronation. Parallels can also be drawn with this first visit – a similar move made by Charles with this royal visit taking place a year after his own Coronation.
Ahead of their landing at Sydney airport, Charles and Camilla issued a personal message on the Royal Family’s social media channels, that read:
‘Ahead of our first visit to Australia as King and Queen, we are really looking forward to returning to this beautiful country to celebrate the extraordinarily rich cultures and communities that make it so special. See you there! – Charles R & Camilla R.’
70 years ago, in 1954, Queen Elizabeth II became the first reigning British Sovereign to visit Australia. 🇦🇺
Tomorrow, The King will arrive for his own first visit as Sovereign, accompanied by Queen Camilla.
During the visit, The King will follow in his mother’s footsteps -… pic.twitter.com/cbXPtjAlKp
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 17, 2024
Stepping off the plane, Charles and Camilla had missed the majority of torrential rain that had braced the runway but still carried umbrellas.
Her Majesty was wearing a royal blue dress by Fiona Clare, paired with the Australian Wattle Brooch – a gift from Australian people to Elizabeth II. The platinum brooch has yellow diamonds in varying shades to create the wattle spray, and clear diamonds create the remainder of the flowers, in both brilliant and baguette shapes.
Their Majesties were greeted by a welcoming party including a young boy called Ky, 12, who was there with the Make A Wish Foundation and presented a posy to Her Majesty. Ky has received chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, which will be poignant for The King, who is still undergoing treatment for cancer himself.
Australia’s Governor-General, Sam Mostyn, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were also present. The couple then headed off to Admiralty House, where they had an Audience with the Prime Minister.
A new photograph of Their Majesties was released to mark the beginning of their visit. (Royal Family)
In marking Their Majesties arrival to Sydney, the famous Opera House was lit up with images of Charles and Camilla’s previous visits to the country. There were also images of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s visit to the country. No photos were shown of any other family members’ visits to Australia, seeming to hint at the continuation of the Monarchy from one generation to the next.
However, on occasion the images were partially blocked by a cruise ship (fittingly named Queen Elizabeth), after its departure from the harbour was delayed by the rain.
The Sydney Opera House projected with images of Royal visits. (Royal Family)
Sydney Opera House was lit up to mark Their Majesties’ arrival. (Royal Family)
(Royal Family)
The official royal engagements will begin on Sunday, which will give Their Majesties a day to recover from the flight. The King and Queen will be conducting a number of engagements over the next few days.
The King’s solo itinerary will focus on sustainability and cancer treatments. Charles will visit the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, where he will meet firefighters to learn about the centre’s work to combat the bush fires which devastate hectares of Australian land each year.
Meanwhile, The Queen’s solo programme will reflect the themes of her royal work, including a visit to a library in Sydney, where she will meet children participating in a Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition workshop. Domestic violence will also be seen throughout the engagements as well.
