King Charles & Queen Camilla - Visit to Australia and Samoa: October 2024

Hallo girl said:

I would say because the King is aware of what is going on in his country and he pairs down the ceremonial tells you why we still have a monarchy and you don’t.

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I will add to my own post , the anointing of a monarch does not happen every year.

Stefan said:

Of course the Visit could not have been as grant as the 1954 Tour but why not keep it like the latest Tour of the late Queen which was not so long ago and included also more formal Events and at last one official Dinner for Example.

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Let’s be aware the formal dinners represent wealth, tiaras etc etc .It does not represent the ordinary citizen.

Unfortunately, he can't win. If everything had been grand and lavish - which I agree would have been a great spectacle - then people would have complained about the cost.

I also wonder what was ‘on offer’ to the Royals. I must admit that I was surprised there was no formal dinner- might the Australian Prime Minister have decided this wasn’t going to be part of the schedule?
On the other hand, I’m sure the King was determined that in the limited time he had, he was going to take the opportunity to engage with as many folks as he could and to be seen as a modern monarch.

Hallo girl said:

I would say because the King is aware of what is going on in his country and he pairs down the ceremonial tells you why we still have a monarchy and you don’t.

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But pairing down the coronation while the state opening of parliament being grander than it goes against the austerity excuse, if the state opening of the parliament was scaled down also I won’t be happy but I would say they are consistent!

The excuse reminds me of state visits during Covid where they would have state visits but with less formal dress codes as if the white ties and tiaras spread Covid more than black ties and cocktail dress

duke of poliganc said:

But pairing down the coronation while the state opening of parliament being grander than it goes against the austerity excuse, if the state opening of the parliament was scaled down also I won’t be happy but I would say they are consistent!

The excuse reminds me of state visits during Covid where they would have state visits but with less formal dress codes as if the white ties and tiaras spread Covid more than black ties and cocktail dress prevents Covid spreading

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I do not understand why you think the state opening of parliament was a bigger event than the coronation. Do the heads of states from around the world attend the opening of parliament…no. Is the monarch blessed with oil , then crowned by the arch bishop of Canterbury. Does the whole royal family attend.
Please tell me why it was a bigger event, I really do not understand your reasoning.
We had a coronation party with bubbles, knitted crowns etc. we do not do that for the opening of parliament.

Thank you for your various posts with all those photos iceflower … so many wonderful shots.

I’ve been watching the live coverage of different events … Samoa is two hours ahead of us … and there have been some fantastic dance displays, such vitality and energy, the smiling faces.

I love that each Nation attending was adopted by a village … putting up that country’s flags, photos/paintings of that country’s representative etc.

The cruise ship docked there to accommodate so many attending is well known here in Sydney, often in and out of here.

The various Naval ships sent for security, and all the other details, such an enormous undertaking.

I loved everything the Queen wore … and I’m not that into clothing … especially the wonderful blue evening outfit.

She looked so fresh with less makeup in some of those day events … bright light and the heat must have been thought about.

Also loved everything the King wore.

We had some beautiful young local women … who work for our ABC channel in the Pacific … who were also beautifully dressed.

They made me realise how much current Western clothing seems to avoid vibrant, uplifting colours, especially with office work. We are all so dreary in comparison.

Charles health was the main consideration in the agenda I think … the late night arrival, so no early flight from Singapore, the rest day, the short schedule on Sunday and though both the Monday in Canberra and the Tuesday back here in Sydney were busy, they didn’t start until mid-morning.

An ambulance followed the King everywhere and even when he went into the church for an hour last Sunday … with the ambulance just outside in the street …

… one of his doctors was photographed accompanying him in, carrying a medical bag.

New Zealand had to be dropped and the Australian portion cut down.

If circumstances had been different I think we would have had evening events and more states visited, a longer visit.

The most important thing was for the general population to be able to see the Couple I think … though there were some official obligations … and that was successfully achieved.

And our media did a terrific job of covering everything so people across Australia could be a part of it.

And Samoa too, wonderful coverage.

Hallo girl said:

I do not understand why you think the state opening of parliament was a bigger event than the coronation. Do the heads of states from around the world attend the opening of parliament…no. Is the monarch blessed with oil , then crowned by the arch bishop of Canterbury. Does the whole royal family attend.
Please tell me why it was a bigger event, I really do not understand your reasoning.
We had a coronation party with bubbles, knitted crowns etc. we do not do that for the opening of parliament.

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The same celebration for the coronation as you mentioned the coronation party and the street parties was more in line with the jubilee celebrations of the last Queen for her birthday and accession anniversaries.

I am talking about the bomb and circumstances we witnessed in the state opening of the parliament with white tie peers in their ropes the ladies in tiaras and orders, you can’t say that the same was done for both.

I know that some people would think that it’s outdated and reminiscent of a bygone age but I would have been more accepting if it was like the Belgium, Spanish, Netherlands accession with the king swearing an oath to the constitution in front of parliament or even just call it a day with the declaration of the new king in the privy council.

The last coronation felt like a half in half out but I will call it a day now not to go out of the thread topic

Elly C said:

I also wonder what was ‘on offer’ to the Royals. I must admit that I was surprised there was no formal dinner- might the Australian Prime Minister have decided this wasn’t going to be part of the schedule?
On the other hand, I’m sure the King was determined that in the limited time he had, he was going to take the opportunity to engage with as many folks as he could and to be seen as a modern monarch.

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I read that there were no formal dinners etc as the programme was designed to allow the King to rest in light of his cancer diagnosis but by cutting out on long dinners it allowed the King to still meet plenty of people in the day - and indeed a wider range of people than would probably have been invited to attend a formal dinner. In other words - it was about making sure HM got an early night.

Stefan said:

Of course the Visit could not have been as grant as the 1954 Tour but why not keep it like the latest Tour of the late Queen which was not so long ago and included also more formal Events and at last one official Dinner for Example.

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When was her visit?

October 2011, when Queen Elizabeth visited Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. It was her last visit to Australia. I was out there in the streets of Melbourne at the time. Large crowds and great atmosphere.

iceflower said:

Photos of today, October 25:


** gettyimages: WSM: King Charles III And Queen Camilla Visit Australia And Samoa - Day Seven **

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So impressive to see King Charles meet with all the Prime Ministers taking part in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa. King Charles and Queen Camilla were amazing on this major visit to Australia and Samoa. The dedication and energy they both put in to their visits must be noted. Hats off to the both of them!

Photos of the final day today, October 26:


** gettyimages: WSM: King Charles III And Queen Camilla Visit Australia And Samoa - Day Eight **

What a beautiful photo and message from Their Majesties

Good news if true!

Do we know why King Charles did not get to meeting Samoa's Head of State His Highness Tuimaleali'Ifano Va'aleto'a Sualauvi II? Or did I just miss the coverage?

Fijiro said:

Do we know why King Charles did not get to meeting Samoa's Head of State His Highness Tuimaleali'Ifano Va'aleto'a Sualauvi II? Or did I just miss the coverage?

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Did he not greet them when they first arrived.

He did meet him. Unfortunately, the press were focusing on the Lidia Thorpe incident at the time :-( .

A lot of positive coverage here in the UK. TBH the protest by the 'out there' Senator actually seemed to garner more positive comments towards TMs so could pretty much be seen as a failure. Yes they didn't get the sort of coverage younger royals would have done - and indeed- have done in the past. But given the time difference it seemed to play out well and most of what was written in the newspapers in the UK seemed relatively positive. Of course, the fact it ended up the Royal Household happy to brief the media the plan for next year is for "a normal schedule of overseas visits" made headlines.

Some highlights from the Tour!