The King and Queen said goodbye to Australia after a “sausage sizzle” and a wave from the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
Charles and Camilla experienced the country’s cultural life from sharing a hug with an Indigenous elder to helping chefs tend the snags – or sausages – grilling at a community barbecue in the Sydney suburbs.
Thousands had turned out to see the King and his wife at the landmark attraction designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon as their six-day tour of Australia drew to a close.
British actress Dame Joanna Lumley, who is staging her one-woman show at the Sydney Opera House, met the couple and during a meet-the-public moment Charles and Camilla shook hands with dozens of people waiting behind crash barriers.
When Charles met Indigenous elders during a visit to the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Sydney, one, Allan Murray, told him their goal was “sovereignty” and referenced the comments of Senator Lidia Thorpe who on Monday accused the King of “genocide” against the First Nations.
“The Union Jack was put on our land without our consent. We’ve been ignored. We can’t rest on our laurels.”
During his visit to the centre the King shared a hug with Uncle James Michael Welsh, a survivor of Australia’s stolen generation when First Nations children were taken away from their parents for assimilation into white society.
Charles stretched out his hand and Mr Welsh said he told the King “I’m not much of a hand shaker, I’m more of a hugger or cuddler” and Charles replied “hugs are good” and the two men embraced.
He added: “I wouldn’t mind sitting down and having a yarn with him to be honest and tell him everything that has happened and how to help the children coming up for a better future.”
Meanwhile, when the Queen visited Refettorio OzHarvest, a community hub providing free lunches for the vulnerable, she was inducted into the Order of the Teaspoon, a symbolic initiative highlighting how small changes are significant.
Charles’s visit was his first to Australia as King despite his cancer diagnosis and the overseas tour has been curtailed on advice from doctors, with a visit to New Zealand dropped from the itinerary.
Professor Richard Scolyer, co-medical director of the Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA), said the King’s decision to go public with his cancer diagnosis was “courageous” after Charles visited the centre.
Prof Scolyer, one of the world’s leading melanoma specialists, said: “It’s courageous of the King to go public with his cancer journey.”
Charles has suspended his treatment while away from the UK and Professor Georgina Long, co-medical director of the MIA, said: “This is a common discussion I have with patients, and my view, and that of my colleagues, is that we are here for quality of life, and so you squeeze things in, you make it happen for people.”
The King and Camilla will travel on Wednesday to Samoa which is staging the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, a gathering of world leaders whose discussions will be formally launched by Charles.
