King Charles completes first visit to Australia as Monarch and has plenty to smile about
10/24/2024 12:41 PM
Charles III’s successful tour of Australia, the first ever by a reigning King, has been a whirlwind. But as it comes to an end, the consensus is that this royal visit – the first time a Monarch has been to Australia for 13 years – was well worth the wait.
Long-time British royal photographer for The Sun Arthur Edwards told Sky News Australia that he believes the tour has been a “huge success” not just for Australia but also for the UK. The comment comes after many expressed concern over whether His Majesty is right for modern Australia.
“In Canberra on Monday, I got all the papers and looked through every one of them. Everyone was positive,” he told Sky News reporter Julia Bradley.
“Even when he came here as the Prince of Wales on his own… obviously when he came with Diana, it was massive then. But this has been a huge success.”
Despite praise in Canberra, there were still those protesting The King to be found throughout Their Majesties’ visit. Senator Lidia Thorpe, who is an Indigenous Australian politician, protested during Charles III’s visit to parliament. During an event, she then said: "Give us what you stole from us: our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people.You destroyed our land, give us a treaty — we want a treaty, we want a treaty with this country."
As she was being escorted out of the Great Hall of Parliament House, Thorpe said ”This is not your land, This is not your land. You are not my King, you are not our King."
Despite some negativity, royalists and well-wishers lined barricades by the thousands just to catch a glimpse of The King and Queen in Canberra and Sydney.
And they packed in plenty of high profile and meaningful duties, putting the spotlight on several important cuauses. In just one day, they visited a food bank, and a social housing project, celebrated the Sydney Opera House’s 50th anniversary, and visited a National Centre of Indigenous Excellence. That’s where The King was also seen participating in a traditional smoking ceremony with representatives from the Gardigal people of the Eora Nation.
Like us, royals need to fill their bellies too. The King and Queen took on manning the tongs for sausages on the grill at a proper barbecue. Despite good food, the focus seemed to be on the sheepdog trial. That’s what brought Grazier Murray Wilkinson from regional NSW with his flock of Indian runner ducks and sheep. During the competition, dogs respond to whistles and commands and they round up sheep accordingly, with applause from the crowd.
As His Majesty battles an undisclosed cancer, he visited the Melanoma Institute Australia in Wollstonecraft. The clinic has a mission of reaching zero deaths from the illness this decade through treatment, innovative research, and education programs. Professors showed Charles what melanoma looked like although he did opt out of having a look down a microscope.
It was a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Review to cap off the Australian part of the visit. During the review, The Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force, and Navy did fly-pasts and over 600 sailors and officers did a ‘cheer ship’ salute.
Their Majesties are now off to Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in the knowledge that a tour billed as a potential problem has ended up as a celebrated success.
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