King Charles and Queen Camilla Receive a Warm Welcome in Sydney

King Charles and Queen Camilla were greeted by cheering crowds and excited children as they began their Australian tour with a Sunday morning service at St Thomas’ Anglican Church in Sydney.

The royal couple arrived in front of hundreds of supporters after taking a rest day following their arrival in Sydney on Friday evening. Their appearance marked the first public engagement of the tour.

A warm welcome at St Thomas’ Anglican Church

Charles arrived wearing a pale grey suit, while Camilla opted for a pale green Anna Valentine dress and coat, paired with a straw hat by Lock & Co.

Before entering the church, the King and Queen stopped to speak with schoolchildren gathered outside. Charles asked the youngsters whether they knew what the Bible was and whether they studied it.

When asked how it felt to meet the royal couple, the children enthusiastically replied: “Amazing!”

The couple were escorted by the Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Reverend Kanishka Raffel, before meeting more children waving miniature Australian flags inside the church grounds.

The youngsters presented Camilla with a beautiful bouquet, while 10-year-old Abigail Smith, dressed in her Scouts uniform, gave Charles a drawing of a kangaroo.

“I drew a picture of a kangaroo and gave it to him,” Abigail said. “He said ‘you are very kind’.”

She added that she chose the kangaroo because it is an Australian animal and believed the King liked her gift.

A light-hearted exchange with a royal fan

The royal couple also exchanged a few words with members of the public gathered outside the church.

Joe Ackland, 48, from Melbourne, asked Charles whether he planned to go surfing or swimming at Manly Beach.

The King replied: “If I was a younger man.”

The organisers had asked for a “fairly normal service”, despite around 450 people being expected inside the church. Outside, streets were lined with supporters hoping to catch a glimpse of the visiting royals.

Although a small group of protesters was also present nearby, they were outnumbered by cheering and whistling crowds.

Sydney resident Lisa Knezevic, 43, said she wanted Charles to know how much people appreciated the effort he had made to travel to Australia.

“I’m just excited and grateful he has made the journey and so I’ve come to support him,” she said.

Sheffield-born Ryan Gilpin, 33, who has lived in Sydney for 11 years, said he had been waiting for the moment for years because of his love for the King and the Royal Family.

Gifts for the royal grandchildren

The royal visit also included a sweet gesture for Charles and Camilla’s grandchildren.

Ellie Mantle, the wife of St Thomas’ Church Rector Micky Mantle, brought children from the church’s Sunday School to meet the royal couple.

The youngsters presented gifts including a rugby ball, cricket ball and a stuffed koala for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

“It’s a great honour for us as it’s the first opportunity for the public to see the King and Queen,” Ellie said.

The warm reception continued as Charles and Camilla met supporters outside the church before moving on to the next engagements on their busy tour.

Charles reflects on returning to Australia

During the visit, Charles spoke about his happiness at returning to Australia as monarch.

“Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen for making me feel so very welcome,” he said.

The King also remarked that it was “slightly worrying” to realise that almost 60 years had passed since his first visit to Australia.

At the State Parliament’s upper house, Charles presented an hourglass to serve as a speech timer, using the gift to make a light-hearted reference to the passage of time.

“In the spirit of marking the passage of time, it is my great pleasure to present a small gift to the Parliament,” he said.

“It is in fact an hourglass — a speech timer — to sit in the chamber and bear witness to the Legislative Council’s next chapter.”

He went on to describe his return to Australia as a great joy and spoke of renewing his long-standing affection for the country and its people.

A busy schedule ahead

Charles and Camilla arrived in Australia on Friday night following a gruelling 24-hour flight. Despite wet weather, they were welcomed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his fiancée Jodie Haydon, along with Chris Minns and the Governor-General.

One particularly touching moment came when 12-year-old Ky and his sister Charlotte welcomed the King and Queen with flowers. Ky, who is living with a blood condition, had requested the opportunity to meet the royals through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The rest of the Australian tour is packed with engagements.

Following their time in Sydney, Charles and Camilla are due to travel to Canberra, where they will visit the Australian War Memorial and pay their respects at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander memorial.

They will then return to Sydney to view a naval fleet before attending a community barbecue.

The King and Queen are also scheduled to undertake separate community engagements before travelling onward to Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

During their stay in Sydney, the couple are based at Kirribilli House, which overlooks Sydney Harbour and serves as the Prime Minister’s secondary official residence.

For Charles, the visit carries particular significance as it marks his first overseas tour since his cancer diagnosis this year.

It also represents another historic chapter in the monarch’s relationship with Australia, following in the footsteps of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who visited the country 16 times during her reign and was the first reigning monarch to do so.