King Charles III and Queen Camilla Begin Commonwealth Tour in the Pacific

 

Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla embarked on a week-long Commonwealth Tour in the Pacific for the first time in His Majesty's reign. This is also the King's longest journey outside the United Kingdom since announcing his cancer diagnosis early this year. 

On October 17, Their Majesties traveled to Australia to start their Commonwealth Tour. Australia is one of the members of the Commonwealth Realms where King Charles III is the monarch and head of state, thus. he is also known as the King of Australia. He is being represented there by a Governor General, currently, Sam Mostyn. 

Queen Camilla wore the Australian Wattle Brooch of Queen Elizabeth II, which was given to the late Queen in 1954 during her Commonwealth Tour as a gift from the Australian government. 

The royal couple landed in Sydney to start their visit and met the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, at the Admiralty House. The iconic Sydney Opera House features images of the King and Queen and King Charles's previous visits to Australia. 

The following day Their Majesties traveled to the capital, Canberra, to meet government representatives and participated in numerous public activities including tree planting at the government house. They traveled back to Sydney for the last day of their visit and met the cheering well-wishers.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla then traveled to Samoa, a country island in Polynesia, to attend a Commonwealth Meeting. Samoa is not part of the Commonwealth Realms but is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. 

As previously announced by Buckingham Palace. the King and Queen won't be visiting nearby New Zealand, a member of the Commonwealth Realms, due to the circumstances of King Charles III's health.