Charles greeted by chants of ‘Long live the King’ outside Sydney Opera House
The King and Queen were greeted by spontaneous chants of “Long live the King” as 10,000 people gathered outside the Sydney Opera House to show their support for the monarch after he was heckled by an Australian senator.
A day earlier, firebrand Lidia Thorpe shouted “You’re not my King” at the royal during a reception at Parliament House – in a protest that was quickly branded “disrespectful” and “embarrassing”.
However, on the final day of the Australian royal visit, members of the public assembled in their droves to show their support, with one woman holding a sign which said simply: “My King.”
At a community barbecue earlier in the day, the royal couple won over fans by cooking sausages – known locally as snags – in front of crowds and used local slang to praise the food as “top tucker”.
Before that, King Charles shared a hug with an Aboriginal survivor of Australia’s “stolen generation”, as he held long-planned talks with members of the indigenous community.
After the Crown was accused of “genocide” during the senator’s protest, Aboriginal elders told the King on Tuesday he was “welcome here” as they called for a “proper conversation” about indigenous rights.
Elders who welcomed the monarch to Gadigal land, at the National Centre for Aboriginal Excellence in Sydney, told him they were “a sovereign people”, but called for politeness and listening during their discussions with the royal visitor.
Australians extended a warm welcome elsewhere too.
At a community barbecue in west Sydney, the King and Queen watched a sheepdog in action, admired local crafts and produce, and took to the barbecue to flip sausages with tongs.
In a speech to the crowd, the King hailed the “top tucker”. Using local slang for an avocado, a type of bread roll and a wine, he added: “It is no wonder, I think, that Sydney is world famous for its cuisine, whether it’s smashed avo, a pav or a Cab Sav.”
Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales, described the King and Queen’s attendance at the barbecue as “a great honour”.
“Your Majesty, this might be your first visit to Australia as a sovereign, but it certainly isn’t your first visit as a friend,” he added to warm applause.
However, it was the Sydney Opera House, at the end of the final day of the trip, that proved the crowning moment of the tour as a screaming, camera-phone-wielding crowd held signs aloft. Amongst the throng were small children wearing sparkling tiaras and two dogs wearing crowns.
An estimated 8,000 royalists and tourists gathered outside the concert venue, with another 2,000 estimated to have been watching from the nearby Botanic Gardens, roads and boats in the vicinity.
Many said they wanted to show their support for the King, with assessments of Ms Thorpe’s protest ranging from “bad manners” to “disgraceful”. “We’re embarrassed,” added one woman.
Another held up a homemade sign reading “My King” – seemingly in response to the senator’s outburst that the monarch was “not my King”.
Cheers rang out as the royal couple arrived. During a walkabout, known as a “meet the people” in Australia, the King and Queen were handed gifts including a kangaroo teddy bear, bouquets and Australian flags.
The King apologised to some of the crowd who had waited in the sun for several hours. He was told in response: “Everything was worth it to see you.”
Another well-wisher said: “We’d love to have you [in Australia] for longer.”
The King, who cupped his hand to his mouth as if confiding, smiled and replied: “My doctors won’t let me.”
The crowd also struck up with an impromptu version of God Save The King and gave him three cheers.
Jim Frecklington, a royal coachmaker who is finishing a new carriage for the King, was among those who briefly spoke to the monarch.
Mr Frecklington said: “He said: ‘Lovely to see you.’ I didn’t think I would see him. It was wonderful.”
During the final day of the royal visit to Australia, the King and Queen also attended separate engagements related to their own causes.
The King was praised for his “courageous” decision to go public with his cancer diagnosis by Prof Georgina Long and Prof Richard Scolyer, who work at the Melanoma Institute Australia and were named Australians of the Year 2024 for their research.
He wore a hard hat to see construction work for sustainable housing with the King’s Trust. The monarch also launched the King’s Foundation Australia with a project to create a new version of his Dumfries House by restoring the historic Hillview Estate in New South Wales.
Meanwhile, the Queen wore an apron to help serve lunch at Refettorio OzHarvest, which serves restaurant-quality three-course meals, made from food that would otherwise be wasted, to vulnerable people.
She was also inducted into the organisation’s “Order of the Teaspoon”, a reference to how even something as small as a piece of cutlery can make a difference if there are enough of them. She was given a brooch in the shape of a teaspoon with a crown on it, and proclaimed herself “very honoured”.
The Queen also visited a library and met a parrot called Caesar who welcomed her with a spoken “hello” – after some patient persuasion.
In their final duty in Australia, the King and Queen were given two caps featuring the acronyms HMTK and HMTQ – His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen – as they carried out a Fleet Review of five ships in Sydney Harbour.
After a long hot day, in which the King at one point adopted some frank Aussie humour when he lost his place reading a speech – which he referred to as “this bl---y thing!” – the Queen was seen to take her shoes off as she walked up the steps to Admiralty House where they were staying.
On Wednesday, the King and Queen will fly to Samoa for the second leg of their tour and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
