Following his life-altering cancer diagnosis eight months ago, King Charles III set off on his most demanding international journey when he landed in Australia on Friday.
The 75-year-old monarch and his wife Queen Camilla arrived in a soggy Sydney after an exhausting 20+ hour flight, where they were welcomed by posy-bearing kids and local politicians.
The monarch is travelling to far-flung Australian and Samoan realms for nine days, stopping along the way to see famous monuments, a crowded public BBQ, and urgent climate risks.
As of 2011, he is the first reigning monarch to travel to Australia, where large crowds gathered to see his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, wave a white-gloved greeting.
The king’s long-planned trip is designed to bolster the monarchy among an increasingly disinterested Australian public, whose British heritage is now just one element in a melting-pot nation.
“I’d forgotten they were even coming,” said 73-year-old Sydneysider Trevor Reeves, summing up the mood in Australia’s largest city.
The visit is also said to be personally important to Charles, who had been forced to scale back public engagements while receiving ongoing cancer treatment.
A cruise ship named the Queen Elizabeth was obstructing the view, so plans to project a collage of photographs of Charles onto the sails of Sydney’s renowned Opera House were momentarily delayed.
But there’s little doubt that the week-long tour will be filled with fanfare, formalities, and media attention.
Festive large-scale events are planned, such as a BBQ held in front of the Opera House and a lively community event.
