The King and Queen flipped sausages on a barbecue when they joined locals in a park for a taste of suburban life in Sydney.
In New South Wales’ blistering sunshine, Charles and Camilla gave chefs a hand tending the snags – or sausages – grilling on the barbecue.
The King was handed some tongs and clicked them in anticipation and the Queen did the same before they set about making sure the “top tucker” cooked evenly, with Charles looking after the vegetarian option and his wife the beef bangers.
Restaurant manager Scott McCoy, 42, was looking after the barbecue and said it was an “honour” to have some royal helpers.
Known by his nickname Chop, he added: “They said the sausages were amazing, they didn’t try them but they could see.”
The 42-year-old who manages the BlackBear BBQ restaurant in Sydney said: “It’s amazing they’re here helping us to cook.”
In a speech to the guests, Charles said: “… I am so delighted to be here, in Parramatta – an excellent choice for a community barbecue, since Parramatta was a place where First Nations people from around the region also came together for generations to meet and to trade food.
“It is a particular delight to see and smell all the ‘top tucker’ here today, from Western Sydney’s vibrant and diverse community.”
He added: “As we are happily rediscovering today, New South Wales farmers continue to produce truly outstanding food and wine.
“It is no wonder, I think, that Sydney is world famous for its cuisine, whether it’s smashed avo, a pav, or a Cab Sav and that is what I hope has been on display!”
Charles and Camilla later visited the Opera House, greeting a huge numbers of fans who assembled to catch a glimpse of the royalsAmong them was a familiar face, actress and comedy legend Joanna Lumley, who was performing at the Opera House in the evening.Charles was embraced by an Indigenous elder after a welcome smoking ceremony in another engagement on Tuesday.
He visited the birthplace of Australia's urban Aboriginal civil rights movement in Sydney, a day after being heckled by an Indigenous senator in Canberra.
Charles met Indigenous elders at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in inner-city Redfern, where he was embraced by elder Michael Welsh, and a woman introduced herself as a member of the Stolen Generation - a reference to Aboriginal children systematically removed from their families decades earlier.
"Welcome to this country," she said.
A day earlier, Charles was heckled at Parliament House in Canberra by independent senator and Indigenous activist Lidia Thorpe who shouted that she did not accept his sovereignty over Australia, and demanded a treaty for Indigenous people.
