‘Go home’: Protests as fans swarm King Charles in Sydney

King Charles III during an event to celebrate the Bicentenary of the New South Wales Legislative Council, in the Strangers’ Dining Room at New South Wales Parliament House, on October 20, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. The King’s visit to Australia will be his first as Monarch, and CHOGM in Samoa will be his first as Head of the Commonwealth. Photo / Pool / Getty Images
King Charles has sparked chuckles in heartwarming remarks on “the passage of time” while visiting the NSW Parliament.
Hundreds of royal fans lined the barricades along Macquarie St in Sydney as the King and Queen Camilla made their way through the CBD to the state legislature on Sunday.
The King offered his “warmest congratulations” to all who had represented Australia’s most populous state over the past 200 years, and gifted the chamber an hour glass to mark the Parliament’s bicentenary.
“And in the spirit of marking the passage of time, it is my great pleasure to present a small gift to the Parliament,” the King said.
“It is, in fact, an hour glass, a speech timer, to sit in the chamber and bear witness to the Legislative Council’s next chapter.
“So with the sands of time encouraging brevity, it just remains for me to say what a great joy it is to come to Australia for the first time as Sovereign and to renew a love of this country and its people which I have cherished for so long.
“So thank you. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for making me feel so very welcome. Thank you.”
Earlier, the King and Queen attended a service at a church in North Sydney, where they were greeted by Union Jack-waving royal fans as well as placard-brandishing protesters.
The King and Queen arrived at St Thomas’ Anglican Church mid Sunday morning, their first engagement of their six-day visit.
The royals waved at the hundreds of fans gathered to catch a glimpse of them as they made their way to the church, and met with children from the local Sunday school.
Some had been waiting since before dawn, dressed in their best.
The service at St Thomas, one of Australia’s oldest churches, was held by the Archbishop of Sydney and restricted to the local congregation.
The jubilation played out against a backdrop of intense security, with heavily armed police on patrol and officers checking beneath vehicles in the area.
Police also watched carefully a small group of demonstrators near the church.
Pro-Palestine protesters and Indigenous rights activists unfurled Banners reading “decolonise” and “empire built on genocide”.
There were also chants of “Aboriginal land, always was, always will be.”
Demonstrators and royalists threw verbal barbs at each other, with pro-Palestine protesters chanting slogans such as “go home” and “you are guilty”, and at least one fan shooting back, “Get lost!”
The King and Queen touched down in Sydney on Friday night, where they welcomed by Governor-General Sam Mostyn, NSW Governor Margaret Beazley, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns and Minns’ mother, Cara.
King Charles and Queen Camilla have events in Sydney and Canberra from October 18 to October 23.
It is his 17th visit to Australia since his first trip in 1966 at the age of 17.