Very briefly, Charles’s shoulders slumped and he closed his reddened eyes in what seemed like pure exhaustion.
Sitting in the hall of Government House in Canberra, it was an understandable sign of human frailty during his sixth engagement of the day amid a crowd of thousands and dealing with 25-degree heat.
But that nanosecond respite soon ended. Up close, I watched the King in the final “grip and smile” of his day (as they call it in the business), as he flashed a jovial smile and wiggled his eyebrows friendlyly as if to say “here we are again.”
Make no mistake, this visit to Australia and Samoa was a Herculean task for the monarch, who turns 76 next month and had to pause his cancer treatment to travel.
His supposedly “reduced” schedule, with only one official evening engagement during the ten days, remained relentlessly punishing. And yet the tour energized him.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla wave as they board the Royal Australian Air Force plane on October 26.
King Charles III meets people during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa.
Queen Camilla laughing during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa.
Thousands of hands have been shaken. Kisses and hugs were received without realizing it. And all the supporters greeted as if they were the first.
The look on Charles’s face as he looked out at the 10,000 people cheering him on at the Sydney Opera House was genuinely that of a man exclaiming, “Really?” For me?’
For someone plagued for so long by introspection and almost Eeyore-like self-doubt, it has been a remarkably validating experience.
In Australia, he arrived in a country where he had no expectations of being welcomed and, if some opinion polls were to be believed, he had very little hope of winning over either.
Indeed, many detractors had predicted that support for the monarchy would quickly fade after Queen Elizabeth’s death, and the arrival of her considerably less popular son would only seal the deal.
In reality, the opposite has largely occurred. Australians, even those ambivalent about the monarchy, have opened their arms to this complex but remarkably brave man.
Queen Camilla waves as she boards the Royal Australian Air Force plane on October 26.
Villagers of Siumu Village before the farewell ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on October 26
King Charles III points out the rain during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa.
Pictured: The plane the Queen and King boarded when they left Samoa on October 26.
A general view of the preparations at Siumu Village before the arrival of King Charles III and Queen Camilla for the ceremony.
Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla attend a ceremony at Siumu Village on October 26.
Queen Camilla holds a fan during the farewell ceremony on October 26.
The crowd was significantly larger – and much warmer – than anyone expected. Media coverage was enthusiastic and demonstrations on the ground were almost non-existent.
In Samoa, he was proclaimed “high chief”, and his lifelong leadership on environmental issues was praised. Meanwhile, Commonwealth leaders praised him as a man with whom difficult conversations could be had on difficult issues.
A senior courtier recently told me that the British monarchy was rather like Doctor Who: constantly regenerating. That’s why it has survived for 1,000 years.
And while he may be a King, not a Time Lord, it’s clear that Charles’s transformation into a thoughtful constitutional monarch, who has finally earned respect in his own right, may no longer be science fiction.
