King Charles and Queen Camilla have touched down in Australia for the couple’s first visit to the country since Charles became its reigning monarch.
They were last in Australia in 2018, when then Prince Charles opened the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. This shorter, more compact tour will take in just Canberra and Sydney, with dozens of engagements packed into the pair’s four days on the ground.
The king will reportedly be accompanied by two doctors on his 17th visit to Australia after being diagnosed with cancer in February, having paused treatment for the eight-day trip, which includes Samoa. He will also travel with a supply of his own blood, according to the Times.
Charles and Camilla were greeted by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, when they arrived in Sydney on Friday night.
On Monday morning, the couple will visit the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where they will lay a wreath and visit the For Our Country memorial, commemorating the military service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
Albanese will then host a reception for Charles and Camilla at Parliament House, where Buckingham Palace has stated they will be joined by “political and community leaders, and prominent Australians who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in a variety of fields, including health, arts, culture and sports”.
Sustainability is a key focus of the tight schedule. The king will meet firefighters and bushfire researchers at CSIRO, while Camilla will meet the founder of the charity donations platform GIVIT – of which she is the patron – as well as joining a discussion on domestic and family violence.
Australian native plants and Indigenous plant use are on the agenda for a tour of the National Botanical Gardens, where the palace said the royals will hear from staff and volunteers about how climate change is affecting biodiversity.
In Sydney the king will meet Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives and groups to learn about their work in supporting local communities and strengthening culture, the palace said. The queen will visit a library, where she will meet children taking part in a Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition workshop.
They will be the guests of honour at a community barbecue in western Sydney, where they will be, in the words of the palace, “sampling a range of produce from across New South Wales, experiencing the cultural diversity of Australian communities and meeting local residents”.
The King will also meet Australians of the Year and cancer researchers Prof Georgina Long and Prof Richard Scolyer and learn about their work addressing melanoma.
On Tuesday afternoon, the pair will reconvene at the Sydney Opera House before conducting a fleet review of the Royal Australian Navy in Sydney Harbour.
The king and queen and their entourage leave Australia on Wednesday, ready for their next round of engagements at this year’s Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) in Samoa’s capital, Apia, the hing’s first as head of the Commonwealth.
Where to see King Charles and Queen Camilla
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has recommended four opportunities in which to catch the royals:
Sunday, 11.30am: Members of the public should plan to be in place no later than 11am at St Thomas’ Anglican Church on the corner of McLaren and Church streets in North Sydney.
Monday, 12.35pm: Members of the public should be in place by 12.10pm before the King and Queen visit the For Our Country memorial, at the Australian War Memorial western grounds and sculpture garden in Canberra.
Monday, 1pm: Members of the public should be in the forecourt of Canberra’s Parliament House by 12.10pm for the King and Queen’s arrival at 1pm and their departure at 2.10pm.
Tuesday, 4.20pm: The Sydney Opera House forecourt opens from 3pm, before the royal appearance.
Tuesday, 4.50pm: Members of the public should be in place by 4pm before the King and Queen join a boat at Sydney’s Man O’War Steps ahead of a navy fleet review.
