King Charles visits Australia: Everything you need to know about the royal tour in Sydney and Canberra
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will touch down in Sydney on Friday for their first tour of a Commonwealth nation since the monarch’s coronation.
The importance of the trip is underlined by the fact King Charles will be halting his cancer treatment to make the journey, but it also means the itinerary will be less jam-packed for the 75-year-old than some of his previous 16 visits to Australia.
Only those in NSW and the ACT will be able to attend public events.
After arriving on Friday evening the royal couple will spend the weekend in Sydney before heading to Canberra.
Monday, October 21
The first scheduled public engagement will from 12:35pm on Monday at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra where they will visit the For Our Country Memorial.
Those wishing to attend need to be there no later than 11:45am to avoid road closures and to allow for security screening.
From 1pm people will be able to see the royal couple at Parliament House, with members of the public advised to arrive no later than 12.10 to again allow for road closures and security measures.
King Charles III is set to land in Sydney on Friday for his first trip to Australia since being crowned monarch
Tuesday, October 22
The royals will greet crowds at the Opera House forecourt at 4.20pm with the entry point to the Sydney Opera House precinct open from 3pm.
From 4.50pm King Charles and Camilla will visible on the Man O’War Steps, the historic jetty near the Opera House, as they review the Royal Australian Navy fleet and defence force flyover.
The best vantage points to see this are Farm Cove, the Royal Botanic Gardens, and Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.
Road closures will be in effect from 3:50pm.
Other engagements
In other private engagements King Charles will tour the National Botanic Gardens on Black Mountain in Canberra.
He will have a meeting with CSIRO scientists researching the impact of bushfires and the resilience of the environment.
Camilla will meet family and domestic violence advocates and representatives from the organisation GIVIT, which helps distribute donations across a range of charities.
After the fleet inspection, King Charles and Camilla will attend a community barbecue.
Australians of the Year Georgina Long and Richard Scolyer will meet the King to discuss their world-leading research on cancer treatments.
King Charles will meet Aboriginal leaders to discuss culture and community.
The importance of the trip is underlined by the fact King Charles will be halting his cancer treatment to make the journey, but it also means the itinerary will be less jam-packed for the 75-year-old than some of his previous 16 visits to Australia
Meanwhile, the Queen will visit a Sydney library and meet students participating in a series of writing workshops.
The couple will later attend another community barbecue in Parramatta hosted by the New South Wales premier which will showcase local produce.
Following his short visit to Australia the King will fly to Samoa on Wednesday for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and will return to the UK on October 26.
Previous visits
King Charles III has been to Australia 16 times.
The first visit was in 1966 where at the age 17 he completed two terms as an exchange student at Timbertop, Geelong Grammar School, in Victoria.
A particularly memorable incident happened in 1979 when then-Prince Charles was taking a morning dip at Perth’s Cottesloe Beach, but was taken by surprise when Jane Priest, a bikini-clad 26-year-old model, grabbed his shoulders to plant a kiss on his cheek.
In 1983, he came to show off his newly married wife Princess Diana, with Aussies completely caught up in Di-mania.
His most recent visit was in 2018 when he opened the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.
How is King Charles’ health?
King Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February following prostate surgery and has been receiving weekly treatment ever since.
He will be underdoing treatment right up until he flies with his doctors, who are reportedly content for it to be paused briefly while he is away.
Immediately on returning to the UK he will resume treatment when he returns to the UK.
