Aussie children charm Charles and Camilla as royals do the rounds

Young fans are delighting King Charles III and Queen Camilla as they continue their royal engagements in Australia.

The monarchs arrived on Friday night amid wet and windy weather, their Royal Australian Air Force jet descending low over Sydney so the royals could see images of their previous tours in a four-minute light show beamed across the Opera House sails, which included images of Charles playing cricket and visiting Bondi Beach in 1966.

The couple was greeted on arrival by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his partner, Jodie Haydon, NSW Premier Chris Minns and his mother Cara Minns, and Governor-General Sam Mostyn and her partner Simeon Beckett.

The King and Queen were also welcomed by 12-year-old South Australian Ky Exelby, who was just nine when he was struck by a rare and life-threatening leukaemia*.

More than 50 blood and platelets* transfusions* later, Ky was on hand to meet his “favourite royal”, after the Make-A-Wish Foundation* flew his family to Sydney from Adelaide for the honour.

“I think he’s kind and I really like his personality, I like him a lot,” he said.

“When I was little, Dad would come home from trips to the UK and bring back royal toys and I always liked the King Charles ones best.”

Looking briefly skywards as he spoke to Ky, Charles told him: “The weather’s bad but it reminds me of England.”

“Thankfully it had stopped just before the King and Queen got off the plane,” Ky said after the meet and greet.

“I thought he was lovely, very kind and nice. It was always my dream to meet him.”

Ky and the King share a love of botany*. Ky’s favourite flower is the Sturt Desert Pea and he was keen to ask Charles about London’s famous Chelsea Flower Show, of which the King is patron.

Ky’s big sis Charlotte, 18, who donated 1.6 litres of bone marrow* to save her brother’s life while he was undergoing treatment, joined him on the tarmac.

“The King was delightful and I thought he looked well,” Charlotte said.

“I’ve got my Year 12 exams coming up in physics*, biology* and maths, he asked me about them and said he was glad he doesn’t have to sit exams anymore.

“Camilla was also nice, she was thrilled with the flowers Ky gave her and told me she’s not a great flyer but was happy to be in Australia.”

The King and Queen’s first official engagement in Australia was attending a Sunday morning church service at St Thomas’ Anglican Church in North Sydney.

Hundreds of royal enthusiasts cheered and chanted “hip, hip hurrah” and “long live the King” as the monarchs left the church.

“It’s lovely to be here ,” King Charles said to flag-waving fans.

The royals then attended a reception at NSW state parliament.

The King and Queen spent Monday in the ACT. Local children welcomed the pair as they arrived in Canberra.

Aunty Serena Williams delivered the Welcome to Country, followed by a smoking ceremony*.

Queen Camilla was presented with a posy by children from Bonython Primary School and Cranleigh School.

They also paid their respects at the Australian War Memorial, which they last visited for the Remembrance Day Ceremony in 2015.

After laying a wreath and floral tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier in the Hall of Memory, the Last Post was played and a minute’s silence observed.

After placing poppies on the Australian War Memorial’s roll of honour, the royals then headed outside for a meet and greet with the crowd.

After meeting members of the public, they visited the memorial and sculpture garden For Our Country, which commemorates the military service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Navy Sub Lieutenant Jordon Bradshaw played the didgeridoo.

On the forecourt of Parliament House, a 21-gun salute rang out and the King received a Royal Salute and inspected the Royal Guard of Honour before attending a parliamentary reception hosted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ms Haydon.

The royal couple were expected to return Sydney later on Monday to review a naval fleet on Sydney Harbour before attending a community barbecue in Parramatta.

They’ll each also take part in separate engagements, joining local community groups for discussions on issues aligning with their charitable causes, before travelling to Samoa for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The trip marks the King’s first big overseas tour since his cancer diagnosis was announced in February.

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GLOSSARY

• leukaemia: a broad term for certain types of blood cancer
• platelets: tiny blood cells that help your body form clots to stop bleeding
• transfusions: the process of adding an amount of blood to the body of a person or animal
• Make-A-Wish Foundation: charitable organisation that grants wishes to seriously ill children
• botany: study of plants and plant life
• bone marrow: the soft, spongy tissue in the middle of some bones that make up most blood cells
• physics: the scientific study of matter and energy and the effect that they have on each other
• biology: science of living things and their processes
• smoking ceremony: an important, ancient Indigenous ceremonial custom that usually accompanies a Welcome to Country by an Indigenous Elder

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QUICK QUIZ

1. What was beamed across the sails of the Sydney Opera House on Friday night?
2. Why were Ky and Charlotte Exelby invited to meet the monarchs on arrival?
3. What did Charlotte personally contribute to her little brother Ky’s cancer treatment?
4. Who delivered the Welcome to Country when the royals landed in Canberra on Monday?
5. Where did Charles and Camilla each place a poppy?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Royal itinerary
Plan your own five-day itinerary for the royals in Australia as if you were in charge of their schedule.

What important things should they see and do while here?

They are usually kept fairly busy on their royal visits but keep in mind their age and health as Charles is still undergoing treatment for cancer.

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 4:

Day 5:

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Civics and Citizenship, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
If you were part of the royal family, which charity would you like to be a patron of to represent and raise awareness for? Outline the charity and why you would like to support them.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
To sum it up
After reading the article, use your comprehension skills to summarise in a maximum of three sentences what the article is about.

Think about:

What is the main topic or idea?

What is an important or interesting fact?

Who was involved (people or places)?

Use your VCOP skills to re-read your summary to make sure it is clear, specific and well punctuated.