King Charles and Queen Camilla have touched down in soggy Sydney tonight ahead of their first royal tour of Australia as monarchs.
The royals were met by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his partner Jodie Haydon, Governor-General Sam Mostyn, NSW Governor Margaret Beazley, Premier Chris Minns and other dignitaries.
To mark Their Majesties’ arrival to Australia, the Sydney Opera House illuminated its sails with a display of images from the couple’s previous visits.
King Charles and Queen Camilla headed to a private reception with Albanese and Haydon at Admiralty House from the airport.
Ahead of landing in Australia, the monarchs issued a rare personal message on social media, sharing their excitement.
“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,” they said in a post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The couple will take a rest day on Saturday following the long commercial flight before starting their tour engagements on Sunday.
There had been speculation the royals will attend The Everest race day at Randwick Racecourse, with a $5 million race named in the King’s honour.
However, UK royal correspondents have reported the King will not be attending the race day and instead will conserve his energy for the remainder of the busy schedule.
The trip marks King Charles’ first big overseas trip since his cancer diagnosis in February.
Daily Mirror associate editor Russell Myers said His Majesty has been focusing on his health ahead of the trip.
“I think it speaks volumes about his character, and about the fact that he has even paused his treatment for a week and has been working very, very hard on his recovery,” Myers said on A Current Affair.
Following the rest day on Saturday, the couple’s first public appearance is expected to be at a church service on Sunday.
The King and Queen will stay in Australia until Wednesday.
Members of the public will have the opportunity to meet royals as they make their way to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra at 12.35pm on Monday.
Later that day, Australians can catch a glimpse of the couple as formalities commence with a ceremonial welcome at 1pm, followed by an opportunity to meet the royals at the Parliament House forecourt at 2.10pm.
The King and Queen will make their way from Australia’s capital to the Harbour City for a visit to the Sydney Opera House forecourt on Tuesday at 4.20pm.
The entry point to the Sydney Opera House precinct will open from 3pm.
Sydneysiders and visitors will also have the chance to catch the couple at the Man O’War Steps.
Charles and Camilla will embark on the Admiral Hudson vessel to conduct a review of His Majesty’s Australian ships Arunta, Gascoyne, Hobart, Warramunga and Yarra, which are anchored in Sydney Harbour.
The King will also attend a community barbecue in Parramatta on Tuesday before the pair travels to Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The last reigning monarch to visit Australia was Queen Elizabeth II in 2011.