King Charles and Queen Camilla received a warm welcome on their first full day of engagements in Australia – from the sun finally rising to the bustle on the streets.
With arms full of flowers, toy koalas and even some kangaroo stuffed animals, the couple were repeatedly thanked for making the long journey, especially in light of His Majesty’s ongoing cancer treatment.
On arrival at St Thomas’ Anglican Church in North Sydney in the morning, the royal duo, who had enjoyed a bad day yesterday after their grueling flight, were greeted with loud cheers from the hundreds of well-wishers, drowning out a handful of protesters with a ‘ decolonization’. banner calling for indigenous rights and waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags.
A handful of locals frustratedly shouted “get lost” and “get a life,” while one man told them, “Be thankful you live in a free society where you can argue across the street.”
Fans waiting in the church grounds – including dozens of Sunday school children – were happy to shake hands with the king and queen, while others described the ongoing republican debate as ‘annoying’.
Then a child shouted with delight: ‘I touched the king!’. “It was so good, he was so nice,” said another little girl.
Camilla, dressed in a light green Anna Valentine dress and straw hat, was presented with a posy before they were received by the Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Rev. Kanishka Raffel, and the Bishop of North Sydney, the Right Rev. Chris Edwards.
Inside, the Archbishop highlighted the royal history of St. Thomas before the Reverend Michael Mantle, Rector of North Sydney Parish, began welcoming the royal guests, saying: “It is a tremendous honor for us to have you in our church this morning to welcome.’
The King and Queen greeted the Australians in Sydney on their first day of engagement
King Charles shook hands and spoke with adoring fans under the spring sun on Sunday
Queen Camilla was presented with gifts as the couple made their way to St. Thomas’s Anglican Church
The theme of the service was ‘The Good News about Jesus’ and included 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.”
Afterwards, professional flutist Minah Kim said she had only learned the piece this morning while standing on the lawn outside St Thomas’.
At the end of the hour-long service, the King and Queen were wished safe travels for the remainder of their journey before heading to the front where they signed Australia’s first Bible and a book of common prayer.
Each member of the royal family has signed the Bible, which belonged to the Rev. Richard Johnson, Australia’s first Christian minister, 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 an important history of this church and nation.”
The king, looking remarkably well, alluded to his inevitable jet lag as he signed and joked: “What day is it again?” and grinning.
Australians lined the streets of North Sydney to welcome the Royals, with flags and tiaras
The couple attended a service at St Thomas’ Anglican Church and signed Australia’s oldest Bible
During the hour-long church service, a lone flute could be heard playing God Save the King
As he stepped out to loud cheers from the hundreds gathered on the lawn opposite the church, the king waved before walking over to speak to the crowd.
Some well-wishers said they queued at 5am to get a prime spot to see the couple, while others in the crowd were mainly from other parts of Australia.
Charles told one person, “It’s a beautiful day,” while several others shouted, “We love you.”
Another told the Queen: ‘Hi, I hope your jet is doing better’ before the pair spoke about the dangers of long-distance travel.
“We have the same thing when we come to Britain,” Helen Hetrelezis told Camilla.
She had arrived at the church with her brothers at 7.45am to try to catch a glimpse of Their Majesties.
King Charles later addressed the bicentenary of the NSW Legislative Council in Sydney
The King then greeted more Australians as he left the NSW Parliament House
“We talked about her visit, I asked the Queen about her stay and she said she really enjoyed Sydney,” she said.
They spent 15 minutes meeting the hundreds of members of the public who had gathered to welcome Their Majesties, even asking their security if they could walk to the crowd that had gathered opposite the church before leaving.
Benjamin was pleased to meet the king and said it was “a unique opportunity, I am grateful to have met him.”
As they moved past the crowd, spontaneous rounds of three cheers erupted from the crowd and people continued to shout and cheer.
Abigail Smith, 10, in her scout uniform, gave the king a special gift.
She said: ‘I drew a picture of a kangaroo and gave it to him.
“He said, ‘You’re very nice.’
‘I did it because the kangaroo is an Australian animal.
“I think he liked it.”
Joe Ackland, 48, from Melbourne, added: ‘It was amazing. I asked him if he would go surfing or swimming at Manley Beach and he said, ‘if I was a younger man!’ ‘
A schoolgirl said the king complimented her on a drawing of a kangaroo she had given him as a gift
Dozens of well-wishers presented gifts to Their Majesties, including Tunnock’s Tea Cakes, Kangaroo jerky and bouquets of flowers.
The Queen has requested that all 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 to have him here in our neck of the woods.
“He looks in excellent health.”
Valerie Malinowski, who is 75, joked that she had been “in love” with Charles since they were both 15 but had never met him before.
“We want to make sure he feels welcome,” she said. ‘There is a lot of negativity sometimes, but he is very welcome and very loved.’
Also in the crowd were Sinclair and Wendy Hill, old friends of the king who had hosted him at their home in Australia.
Queen Camilla had the numerous bouquets of flowers gifted to her sent to their accommodation
Mr Hill, who has been described as Australia’s greatest ever polo player, was asked by Prince Philip to teach the young Charles and has maintained a warm friendship ever since.
Mrs Hill, who was greeted by the King with a kiss on each cheek, said afterwards: ‘He’s a lovely man and the fact that things weren’t going well for him and he still came… The lengths he goes to deal with all this people to talk. I thought he looked fantastic.”
Speaking afterwards, the Archbishop said: ‘It was a great pleasure and privilege to have Their Majesties with us here at St Thomas’, North Sydney.
“This church has a family connection to His Majesty because his great-grandfather laid the cornerstone as a teenager.”
He added: “It was wonderful for this local church to welcome the Sovereign King Charles and Queen Camilla to worship with us today. We are absolutely thrilled.
‘There was a great feeling.
‘People are very happy to see them and they were received very generously and warmly.
“And Their Majesties were also very generous in greeting many people shortly after their jet lag.”
The church presented the royal visitors with gifts including a rugby ball, cricket ball and toy koala to take home for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Later, the King undertook his first major ceremonial duty – and an impromptu royal walk – in Australia today, when he visited the New South Wales Legislative Council to mark its bicentenary.
The passage of time was clearly on the king’s mind as he remarked on the “somewhat disturbing” fact that he first came to the country almost sixty years ago.