It’s a royal wrap as Charles dons shades for Samoa

King Charles and Queen Camilla boarded a Royal Australian Air Force plane and waved goodbye following a whirlwind five-day tour.

A Samoa-bound King Charles is all smiles at Sydney airport on Wednesday after his five days in Australia. Picture: AAP

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King Charles and Queen Camilla boarded a Royal Australian Air Force plane and waved goodbye on Wednesday following a whirlwind five-day tour.

The couple arrived in Samoa and are expected to talk climate change, the impact of colonialism and reparations at the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

They received a rock star farewell at the Opera House on their final full day in Australia on Tuesday, with 10,000 screaming fans yelling “I love you” and “long live the King”.

At Sydney airport, the reception was much smaller, with the pair farewelled by NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and NSW Governor Margaret Beazley.

Their five-day visit to Australia included a church service in North Sydney, a visit to the War Memorial in Canberra, a foul-mouthed tirade by independent senator Lidia Thorpe in the Great Hall at Parliament House, a trip to the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, and a barbecue in Parramatta Park where the King and Queen had a turn on the tongs.

Among those to meet the King and Queen were cricketer David Warner, original Blue Wiggle ­Anthony Field, comedian Ahn Do and actor Heather Mitchell.

The biennial meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government will bring together 56 world leaders in Apia, the coastal capital of Samoa.

Charles and Camilla are farewelled at Sydney airport on Wednesday. Picture: AAP

Commonwealth secretary-general Patricia Scotland said she hoped the conference, the first hosted by a Pacific Island nation, would “cement” the Commonwealth family “as we look to what, for many, is a very troubled and complex future”.

“We have two choices globally. We can either swim together or we can drown separately,” she said.

“The Commonwealth has never been for drowning. It’s ­always been for fighting.”

The summit’s theme is One ­Resilient Common Future and discussions are expected to focus on climate change and rising sea levels, democratic systems, the impact of colonialism and reparations.

Speaking at Parliament House on Monday, Charles said Australia was “particularly vulnerable” from rising temperatures while backing the Albanese government’s rollout of renewables. He told politicians that “it’s in all our interests to be good stewards of the world”.

Additional reporting: Neve Brissenden