Packed itinerary proposed for royal visit as NSW rolls out red carpet for King Charles

NSW is already a nose in front of other states in the battle to secure a royal visit with King Charles indicating he would be keen to attend The Everest race day in Sydney.

NSW is already a nose in front of other states in the battle to secure a royal visit with King Charles indicating he would be keen to attend The Everest race day in Sydney.

State and territory leaders have been directed by the federal government to pitch where the King should travel if he is well enough to come to Australia on a royal visit planned for later this year.

NSW could have the inside track on securing King Charles and Queen Camilla after Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys invited the King to present the trophy for the race named in his honour during his trip to Royal Ascot last year.

Mr V’landys said King Charles was “quite chuffed” when he met him at Royal Ascot and told him that NSW was going to be the first jurisdiction to name a race in his honour.

The Everest could get royal visitors later this year. Photo: Mark Evans/Getty Images

“I invited him to present the trophy of his race, the Kings Charles III Stakes, and it fits perfectly into his schedule because he’s got to do the NSW parliament around the same time,” he said.

The King was invited in 2022 to attend the bicentenary of the NSW Upper House, which will fall later this year.

Mr V’landys said the King “loves Australia and the Australian people” and was more “engaged in racing how he’s got used to running the Queen’s old stable”.

Mr V’landys said it builds on Racing NSW’s strong royal tradition with the Queen Elizabeth Stakes being run in front of the Queen Elizabeth Stand at Royal Randwick which is only the second royal track in the world.

“You have got Royal Ascot and Royal Randwick there are no royals in Victoria,” he said.

Then-Prince Charles, and Camilla, then-Duchess of Cornwall, visit Sydney in 2015. Picture: Adam Taylor

Former Veterans Affairs Minister David Elliott, who brought Prince Harry out for the Invictus Games and led the 1999 No Republic campaign, said NSW had a long history of welcoming the royal family.

“There is no doubt from the results of the republic debate that King Charles would get a much warmer welcome here than in that cold, dreary place south of the Murray River,” he said.

“The Royal Family have centuries of tradition with the sport of kings and I am sure King Charles would love to attend Royal Randwick and follow in his mother’s footsteps with the racing fraternity.”

Premier Chris Minns yesterday rolled out the welcome mat for the King if he recovers from his cancer treatment and can make the planned visit.

“We’d love to have the king and queen in Sydney. I don’t think you can come to the country without coming to NSW and particularly Sydney,” he said.

Black rhinos at Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, one of the sites suggested for a royal visit. Photograph: Rick Stevens

However Mr Minns did not have any other suggestions for places the King could visit.

“I’ve got a lot on my plate. I’m not going to be doing the King’s itinerary other than to say he’d be more than welcome in the state,” he said.

However there were plenty of other suggestions for places in Sydney and NSW that a Royal visit would showcase to the world.

Tourism and Transport Forum Australia CEO Margy Osmond offered trips ranging from Dubbo to downtown Sydney.

“As a true champion for wildlife and the environment, King Charles should head to Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo to meet some of Australia’s iconic species and visit one of the global centres for research and protection of endangered species,” she said.

“King Charles should also stop by the Queen Victoria Building in the heart of Sydney, which was named after his great-great-great grandmother, to perhaps buy a gift for the Queen from one of Australia’s leading designers.”

Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou said a trip to Sydney wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Opera House, which his mother Queen Elizabeth II opened in 1973.

Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys AM. Picture: Richard Dobson

“It’d be great to have him come – it’d give us an opportunity to promote Sydney around the world,” he said.

Mr Nicolaou added the King, a patron for a swathe of charities, should also lend his attention to homelessness in the city.

“He should go to the Wayside Chapel or Matthew Talbot Hostel at Woolloomooloo – it’s important for him to focus attention on homelessness and the needs of homelessness,” he said.

Business Western Sydney executive David Borger said the King should take a note from Taylor Swift, who headed to the west of the city to visit Sydney Zoo at Eastern Creek not once, but twice, during her stay here.

“We should get Charlie down to Pondi with Camellia for a dip – he loves the natural environment, so let’s have a royal (trip) to Pondi,” he said, referring to Penrith’s man-made beach on the edge of the Blue Mountains.

“It’d be great to get him to CommBank or Accor for a game of rugby league.

“For a bite, it’d be great to get the king out to Canley Vale for some great Asian food … you can’t get that in Buckingham Palace.”

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