SYDNEY: King Charles III arrived in Australia on Friday, marking his first major overseas trip since his life-changing cancer diagnosis eight months ago. After a taxing 20-plus hour journey, the 75-year-old monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, landed in a rainy Sydney, where they were welcomed by local dignitaries and children bearing flowers.
“We are really looking forward to returning to this beautiful country to celebrate the extraordinarily rich cultures and communities that make it so special,” the couple shared in a social media post prior to their arrival.
The king’s nine-day tour of his distant Australian and Samoan realms will include a public barbecue, visits to iconic landmarks, and discussions about urgent climate issues. He is the first reigning monarch to visit Australia since 2011, when large crowds turned out to greet his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
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This long-planned trip aims to strengthen the monarchy’s position among an increasingly ambivalent Australian public, where British heritage is now just one aspect of a diverse national identity.
However, the visit faced a minor setback when plans to project a montage of images of Charles onto the sails of Sydney’s iconic Opera House were delayed because the cruise ship Queen Elizabeth was obstructing the view.
“I think most people see him as a good king,” said Clare Cory, a 62-year-old solicitor from Sydney, who, like many Australians, is “on the fence” regarding the monarchy’s future role in the country. “It’s a long time. Most of my ancestors came from England, so I think we do owe something there,” she said, while adding that Australia increasingly looks towards the Asia-Pacific region rather than the distant British Isles.
