Admirers of King Charles across the pond saw their first glimpse of the reigning monarch on Sunday when the British royal attended a church service and declared his “great joy” at coming back to Australia.
The 75-year-old sovereign, who is juggling royal duties with his cancer recovery, arrived in Sydney late on Friday night.
Sunday morning services at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church, a stone structure constructed as a house of worship for British colonial immigrants, marked his first official public appearance.
A few hundred people gathered around the structure, waving flags, cheering, and clutching flowers. “G’day your majesties” was written on a placard held up by two ladies.
Lynton Martin, 22, drove nine hours from Melbourne and donned a union flag print jacket and nine royal lapel pins before trying to catch a glimpse of the royals.
“I wanted to show that we are supportive and welcoming of the king,” he told AFP, expecting an “aura” to Sunday’s service.
Martin went to London for Charles’ coronation last year, calling it a “spectacular” occasion.
Bishop Christopher Edwards appealed for prosperity for Charles’ upcoming Commonwealth conference in Samoa and prayed for peace and an end to hostilities at the church service.
During his brief speech in the New South Wales Legislative Council later on Sunday, Charles praised the “promise and power of representative democracy” and joked about getting older.
“I first came to Australia nearly 60 years ago, which is slightly worrying” he said to laughter.
“It just remains for me to say what a great joy it is to come to Australia for the first time as sovereign and to renew a love of this country and its people which I have cherished for so long”.
Charles will spend the balance of Sunday at Admiralty House a harbourside mansion that is the Sydney residence of Australia’s governor-general, the monarch’s representative in the country.
Those who are keen to catch a sight of the monarch will have another opportunity on Monday as he and Queen Camilla arrive in Canberra for the busiest part of their trimmed-down itinerary.
Charles, who was diagnosed with cancer only eight months ago and has since undergone a life-altering diagnosis, is going on his first significant international tour, a nine-day trip to Australia and Samoa.
Usually lasting several weeks, visiting British royals have paraded through streets crowded with jubilant, flag-waving citizens in an effort to garner support.
However, due to the king’s weakened state, much of the customary opulence has been reduced.
Whether deliberate or not, the more restrained timetable ought to allay republican worries about extravagant expenditures and extravagant royal feasts.
There won’t be many large-scale public events, with the exception of a BBQ held by the community in Sydney and an event at the city’s famous opera house.
A small group of demonstrators assembled on Sunday close to the church, holding signs calling for Australia to be “decolonised.”
Even though the majority of Australians still support the monarchy, they are not nearly as ardent as they were in 2011, when thousands of people gathered to see Queen Elizabeth II, the mother of Charles, in white gloves.
