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As the King and Queen left Parliament House, eager fans from the crowd who were lucky enough to come face-to-face with the royal couple reflected on their encounters.
King Charles shook hands with admirers around the crowd, joking about having gin and tonics with one woman and receiving flowers from others. He wore gold aviator sunglasses as he thanked visitors for braving the Australian sunshine.
One group of elderly visitors wore tiaras and held signs saying “King Charles, we love you”.
Navy veteran and Canberra local Nick Braden spoke to the King about his military service. “He asked if I was in the Defence Force,” Braden said.
“I told him ‘in the Navy, of course’ because he was in the Navy himself. He said: ‘Fantastic. I hope they’ve given you a good pension.‘” It was the second time he had met Charles.
Amanda Black, 64, was one of the fortunate few who got to meet both the King and Queen. Black said she had always been in the crowd at Queen Elizabeth II’s royal visits, but had never met a monarch before.
“The Queen [Camilla] came along, she looked beautiful, and I was very excited. I shook her hand and wished her all the best, said ‘Welcome to Australia’,” she recounted afterwards, as the crowds cleared.
“And then the King shook my hand and I said ‘I hope you’re well and enjoy’. He said ‘thank you very much’. It’s very exciting, it’s amazing. I’m really, really excited.”
Members of the public greet King CharlesCredit: Getty Images