King Charles and Queen Camilla received the warmest welcome on their first full day of engagements in Australia – from the sun finally rising to the crowds on the streets.
As they were presented with armloads of flowers, toy koalas and even some kangaroo jerky, the couple were repeatedly thanked for making the long journey, particularly in light of Her Majesty’s ongoing cancer treatment.
Arriving at St Thomas’ Anglican Church in North Sydney in the morning, the royal duo, who yesterday enjoyed a dreary day after their grueling flight, were greeted with loud cheers from hundreds of well-wishers, drowning out a handful of protesters with a message of “decolonization.” ‘ banner calling for indigenous rights and waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags.
A handful of locals shouted in frustration: ‘get lost’ and ‘get a life’, while one man told them: ‘Be grateful you live in a free society where you can argue across the street.’
Fans waiting inside the church grounds, including dozens of Sunday school children, were excited to shake hands with the King and Queen, while others described the ongoing republican debate as “boring”.
Then a child shouted in delight: “I touched the King!” “He was so good, he was so kind,” another girl said.
Camilla, dressed in a pale green Anna Valentine dress and straw hat, received a corsage before being greeted by the Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Reverend Kanishka Raffel and the Bishop of North Sydney, the Most Reverend Chris Edwards.
Inside, the Archbishop highlighted the royal history of St Thomas before the Reverend Michael Mantle, Rector of the Parish of North Sydney began by welcoming the royal guests, saying: “It is a huge honor for us to welcome you to our church this morning.
The King and Queen greeted Australians in Sydney on their first day of engagements.
King Charles shook hands and spoke to his admirers in the spring sunshine on Sunday.
Queen Camilla received gifts as the couple headed to St Thomas’ Anglican Church.
The theme of the service was ‘The Good News About Jesus’ and featured the hymns Rejoice, the Lord is King, Count, My Soul and Divine Love, All Loves Excel.
Throughout the service, a lone flute could be heard from outside playing ‘God Save the King’.
Speaking afterwards, professional flutist Minah Kim said she only learned the piece this morning while standing on the grass outside St Thomas’.
At the conclusion of the hour-long service, the King and Queen were wished safe travels for the rest of their journey before heading to the front where they signed Australia’s first Bible and a book of common prayer.
All members of the Royal Family have signed the Bible, which belonged to the Reverend Richard Johnson, the first Christian minister to Australia, on previous royal visits.
The late Queen Elizabeth signed it in 1954 during the first visit of a reigning monarch to these shores, and the archbishop said the Bible “represents a significant history of this church and nation.”
The King, who looked surprisingly well, alluded to his inevitable jet lag as he signed, joking: “What day is it?” and chuckling.
Australians lined the streets of northern Sydney to welcome the Royals, carrying flags and tiaras.
The couple attended a service at St Thomas’ Anglican Church and signed Australia’s oldest Bible.
A lone flute could be heard playing God Save the King during the hour-long church service.
Leaving to loud applause from the hundreds gathered on the lawn in front of the church, the King saluted before approaching to speak to the public.
Some supporters said they had started queuing at 5am to get a prime spot to see the couple, and others in the crowd came especially 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: “Hello, I hope your plane journey is improving” before the couple spoke about the dangers of long-distance travel.
“It’s the same thing when we come to the UK,” Helen Hetrelezis told Camilla.
He had arrived at the church at 7:45 am with his brothers to try to see Their Majesties.
Later, King Charles addressed the New South Wales Legislative Council bicentenary event in Sydney.
The King then greeted more Australians as he left the New South Wales Parliament House.
“We talked about her visit, I asked the queen about her stay and she said she was really enjoying Sydney,” he said.
They spent 15 minutes meeting the hundreds of members of the public gathered to welcome Their Majesties, and even asked their security if they could approach the crowd gathered outside the church before leaving.
Benjamin was delighted to meet the King and said it was “a once in a lifetime opportunity, I feel grateful to have got to meet him.”
As they moved through 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 kind.’
‘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 were a younger man!’ ‘
A schoolgirl said the King praised the drawing of a kangaroo she gave him.
Dozens of well-wishers presented gifts to Their Majesties, including Tunnock tea cakes, kangaroo jerky and bouquets of flowers.
The Queen has requested that all flowers be taken to Admiralty House, where they will stay during their stay in Sydney.
Another lady said excitedly: ‘I shook his hand.
“I am absolutely delighted that he is here in our danger zone.
“He appears to be in excellent health.”
Valerie Malinowski, 75, joked that she had a “crush” on Charles since they were both 15, but had never met him before.
“We want you to feel welcome,” he said. “Sometimes there is a lot of negativity, but he is very welcome and very loved.”
Also in the crowd were Sinclair and Wendy Hill, old friends of the King who hosted him at their home in Australia.
Queen Camilla had the numerous bouquets of flowers that were given to her sent to her accommodation.
Prince Philip asked Mr Hill, who is described as Australia’s best polo player, to teach young Charles, and they have maintained a warm friendship ever since.
Mrs Hill, whom the King greeted with a kiss on each cheek, said afterwards: “He is a lovely man and the fact that he has not been well and yet has come… The effort he makes to talk to all this people”. I thought it looked fantastic.”
Afterwards, the Archbishop said: “It has been a great pleasure and privilege to have Their Majesties with us here at St Thomas’, in Sydney’s north.
‘This church has a family connection with His Majesty because his great-grandfather as a teenager laid the foundation stone.’
He added: “It was wonderful for this local church to be able to welcome Sovereign King Charles and Queen Camilla to join us for today’s service – we are absolutely thrilled.”
‘There has been a great feeling.
‘People are very happy to see them and they received a very generous and warm welcome.
“And Their Majesties were also very generous in greeting many people shortly after their jet lag.”
The church gave royal visitors gifts including a rugby ball, a cricket ball and a toy koala to take home for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
The King later took on 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 commented on the “slightly worrying” fact that he first arrived in the country almost sixty years ago.