King and Queen begin landmark tour of Australia

The six-day trip to Canberra and Sydney will be Charles’ first to Australia as its head of state, and comes as he continues to receive treatment for cancer.

Australia’s Governor-General Sam Mostyn and her husband Simeon Beckett greeted the royal couple alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, his fiancee Jodie Haydon and other dignitaries.

Just a few hours before the plane landed, the royal couple posted a video montage of previous royal tours of Australia alongside words of praise for the Commonwealth country.

The couple said: “Ahead of our first visit to Australia as King and Queen, we are really looking forward to returning to this beautiful country to celebrate the extraordinarily rich cultures and communities that make it so special. See you there!

“Charles R & Camilla R.”

As drops of rain fell at Sydney airport, Charles and Camilla walked down the steps of an Australian Royal Air Force plane that carried the royal party as the King is Australia’s head of state.

Charles has visited Australia more than 15 times since the 1960s and has enjoyed some memorable trips, from studying at a remote outpost of a grammar school when a 17-year-old to being kissed by a bikini-clad model as he emerged from the sea.

The King and Queen will later travel to Samoa for a three-day state visit and meet world leaders taking part in a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which Charles will formally open.

Ms Mostyn, the King’s representative in Australia, is a prominent businesswoman whose career has spanned executive roles in the worlds sport, the arts and gender equality alongside business, and she introduced Charles to a line of dignitaries.

Among them were the Governor of New South Wales, Margaret Beazley, and New South Wales’ Premier Chris Minns.

The King had walked down the plane’s steps holding an umbrella as his wife sheltered under her own after the airport had been deluged, just 30 minutes before their arrival.

Among the line-up of dignitaries was 12-year-old Ky, who has severe aplastic anaemia and was able to present a posy to the Queen after his wish was granted by the Make-A-Wish organisations in the UK and Australia.

To mark the royal visit, the iconic Sydney Opera House was lit up with a rolling four-minute projection of images of Charles and Camilla.

Small symbolic protests are planned by the anti-monarchy group Republic, with its chief executive officer Graham Smith in Australia to lead the events in Canberra and Sydney.

The Australian Republican Movement has branded the visit “The Farewell Oz Tour” and reports claim Australia’s six state premiers will miss a reception for the King and Queen in Canberra on Monday.

Charles’s health is a factor, as the King was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer earlier this year and will be pausing his treatment while he is away from the UK.

The overseas tour has been curtailed on advice from doctors, with a visit to New Zealand dropped from the itinerary and other changes made to the programme.

The first day of the tour ended with Mr Albanese and his partner Ms Haydon sitting down for informal private talks with the King and Queen at Admiralty House.

Australia’s prime minister has a long-held aim of holding a referendum on breaking ties with the British monarchy and his country becoming a republic.

But the plans were put on hold after Australians overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give greater political rights to Indigenous people in a referendum held last year.