The King and Queen touched down in Sydney to begin an historic tour and there was no getting away from the royal visitors as their plane arrived.
While King Charles III and Queen Camilla were greeted by rain and fierce winds as they disembarked, people in central Sydney were greeted by the Monarch and his consort in giant form on one of the city’s most famous landmarks.
[getty src=”2179222375″ width=”594″ height=”396″ tld=”com”]The Sydney Opera House showed images of The King and Queen across its famous facade to mark a moment of history several centuries in the making.
[getty src=”2179211240″ width=”594″ height=”396″ tld=”com”]For while Charles III isn’t the first King of Australia, he is the first to visit while reigning. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was the first ruling Monarch to tour the realm and now her son takes his own place in the history books.
It’s also the first visit by King Charles to a Commonwealth realm since he ascended the throne in September 2022.
The tour also takes King Charles and Queen Camilla to Samoa. It is there that The King will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and attain another first – it will be his debut at such a gathering as Head of the Commonwealth.
[getty src=”2178339636″ width=”594″ height=”396″ tld=”com”]King Charles and Queen Camilla will take a day’s rest before their full agenda in Australia gets under way. The visit is being undertaken with full medical support from The King’s doctors who have agreed to pausing the cancer treatment His Majesty is undergoing for the duration of the trip.
[getty src=”2178339828″ width=”594″ height=”429″ tld=”com”]The visit to Australia hasn’t been without controversy. Just before Their Majesties arrived, it was confirmed that none of the State premiers of the country would be present at an official reception held in honour of The King and Queen in Canberra.
However, the couple received a warm welcome on arrival and, despite the wet weather, people gathered to take their own photos of the picture show projected on the Sydney Opera House.