Children greet King Charles III and Queen Camilla outside a Sydney church

SYDNEY (AP) — King Charles III and Queen Camilla had been greeted by kids Sunday outdoors a Sydney church of their first public look of their Australian go to.

Charles’ arrival Friday marked the primary reigning British monarch go to to Australia since his late mom Queen Elizabeth II made her sixteenth journey to the distant nation in 2011.

Charles, 75, is being handled for most cancers, which has led to a scaled-down itinerary.

The couple spent a relaxation day on Saturday at Admiralty Home, the official Sydney residence of the monarch’s consultant in Australia, Governor-Normal Sam Mostyn.

The royals’ first public engagement was at a service at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in North Sydney. As Charles and Camilla made their technique to the entrance of church, Sunday faculty kids waving Australian flags cheered and shook fingers with the couple. Inside, dozens of telephones pointed of their path, whereas excited whispers echoed by means of the room. After the service, the king and queen had been greeted outdoors by a whole lot of cheering folks hoping to catch a glimpse or snap a photograph.

Sunday’s service was restricted to the native congregation, with just a few particular company allowed to attend, equivalent to Mostyn and New South Wales state Governor Margaret Beazley.

A small group of protesters demonstrated close by below a banner that learn, “Empire Constructed on Genocide.”

The couple later attended the New South Wales state Parliament to commemorate the 2 hundredth anniversary of Australia’s first legislature.

Charles gifted Parliament an hourglass, which is historically used to restrict the period of lawmakers’ speeches.

“So with the sands of time encouraging brevity, it simply stays for me to say what an excellent pleasure it’s to come back to Australia for the primary time as sovereign and to resume a love of this nation and its folks which I’ve cherished for thus lengthy,” Charles mentioned.

It’s Charles’ seventeenth journey to Australia and the primary since he grew to become king in 2022.

The couple will attend a reception within the nationwide capital, Canberra, on Monday. All authorities leaders of Australia’s six states have declined invites to attend, which monarchists have interpreted as a snub. The non-attendants are all republicans who would favor an Australian citizen because the nation’s head of state, slightly than Britain’s monarch.

On Wednesday, Charles will journey to Samoa, the place he’ll open the Commonwealth Heads of Authorities Assembly.

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This story corrects that the king gave the hourglass, he didn’t obtain it.