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What’s on the agenda for King Charles and Queen Camilla’s last day in Australia
King Charles and Queen Camilla have another action-packed day ahead as an iconic royal statue is targeted. See what’s on their itinerary.
Fans of King Charles and Queen Camilla are hoping the weather holds up when they are treated to outdoor activities including a true blue Aussie barbecue on Tuesday, the last full day of their whistlestop tour of Australia.
And they should be in luck: a mostly sunny day with a high of 23°C has been forecast for Sydney.
It comes after the monarch was heckled on Monday by Senator Lidia Thorpe, who was removed from the Great Hall after she disrupted a parliamentary ceremony by screaming at the King, accusing the monarch of genocide.
Hours after the incident, which made global headlines, the iconic statue of Queen Victoria outside the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney’s CBD was vandalised with red paint.
The King’s first engagement on Tuesday will be a visit the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence, a not-for-profit social enterprise that works to serve the community, build capacity and create opportunities for First Nations peoples.
He will be received by Jody Broun, the CEO National Indigenous Australians Agency, and the NSW and ACT manager of the National Indigenous Australians Agency, Leon Donovan.
A traditional welcome ceremony will be conducted by community representatives from the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.
The King will meet Beryl Van Oploo OAM and representatives from the Go Foundation, the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy, the Gamay Rangers, the Inner City Empowered Communities group and elders from the local community.
Meanwhile Queen Camilla will visit Refettorio OzHarvest, an Australian-first social impact collaboration which is marking its 20th anniversary. It serves up to 500 guests a week, free of charge, using fresh, rescued ingredients.
The Queen who is a patron of UKHarvest will be met by His Excellency Simeon Beckett SC and Ronni Khan AO, founder of OzHarvest.
She will visit Green Square Library where she will be welcomed by Deputy NSW Premier Prue Car and will meet Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore.
During the visit she will present certificates to four past and current Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition participants, Ayra 11, Isra, 10, Yihan 18, and Aditya 13.
The competition is the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools and has been delivered since 1883.
Queen Camilla will meet The Queen’s Reading Room Trustee Amanda MacManus who will introduce her to authors Liane Moriarty and Thomas Keneally, along with 10 Sydney book club representatives who will take home book bundles provided by The Queen’s Reading Room.
The Queen’s Reading Room is a charity and book club of Queen Camilla that champions literature in the UK and beyond.
She will also meet eight Australian authors, Roslyn McFarland; Sally Rippin, Apsara Baldovino, Matt Cosgrove; Yvette Poshoglian, Sue Murray; Will Kostakis and Kylie Captain.
In his busy schedule, the King will be given a guided tour by NSW Premier Chris Minns of the Cowper Street Development, a NSW Government sustainable affordable housing project in Glebe.
The King’s Trust Australia provided advice during the design of the project and continues its involvement with a “Get into Construction” apprenticeship program.
The development includes 75 new apartments and terrace houses. It is expected to be completed in early 2025.
After their respective engagements the royals will meet up for a community BBQ at Parramatta Park, hosted by Mr Minns and his wife Anna.
The BBQ event will showcase the cultural diversity of Western Sydney with the MC Adam Liaw.
There will be a range of activities for guests including henna tattooing, backyard cricket hosted by Sydney Thunder and a Royal Agricultural Society sheep dog display. Performances will be given by local schools and dance groups.
The BBQ will be cooked by Surf Lifesaving NSW volunteers, where versions of the classic “Aussie sausage ‘sanga’ [sandwich]” will include a Mediterranean and Vietnamese interpretation.
Afterwards, the King will attend a reception by The King’s Foundation before visiting the Melanoma Institute Australia where the CEO Matthew Browne will greet him with co- medical directors Professor Georgina Long AO and Professor Richard Scolyer AO.
The King will tour the facility to view detection, diagnosis and treatment technologies, hear from researchers and clinical staff and meet current patients.
Finally, Charles and Camilla will meet with Australians in front of the Sydney Opera House, accompanied by the NSW Premier.
They will have official photographs in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, before meeting the public on the Forecourt.
There will be a surprise performance from up to 100 NSW Department of Education Arts Unit students to the music and lyrics of “Follow Your Dreams” written by Ocean Lim before conducting a review aboard the Admiral Hudson.
During the Fleet Review, the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Army, and the Royal Australian Air Force will conduct fly-pasts and over 600 officers and sailors will conduct a ‘cheer ship’ salute.
No formal dress code is required but guests have been advised to address the royals on first contact as “Your Majesty” and thereafter as “Sir” or “Ma’am”, with the advice to “pronounce with a short ‘a’, as in ‘jam’.”
Men receiving formal introductions have been advised to bow from the neck, while women are requested to curtsy in a style that is not exaggerated, while maintaining eye contact.
Selfies are off the agenda – and touching, hugging or cheek kissing are also not allowed, guests have been told.
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Originally published as What’s on the agenda for King Charles and Queen Camilla’s last day in Australia
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