King Charles III (T/Cu'66) has completed His Majesty's first visit to a Realm as Monarch, which was also the first visit to Australia by a reigning Monarch since 2011. 

His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla arrived in Sydney on Friday 18 October and wound up their whirlwind five-day visit on Wednesday 23 October, boarding a Royal Australian Air Force plane to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa. It was Charles's 17th visit to Australia, but his first since ascending the throne. Back in February, the planned Royal visit looked unlikely to happen, with the King diagnosed with cancer and having treatment. There were some modifications to the itinerary, but it was still a busy schedule for the King and Queen. Their visit included a church service in North Sydney, a visit to the War Memorial in Canberra, a reception in the Great Hall at Parliament House, a trip to the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, and a barbecue in Parramatta Park, where the King and Queen had a turn on the tongs. 

The King's first visit to Australia was to attend Timbertop in 1966 and His Majesty spoke fondly about his time at GGS at the Parliamentary Reception on Monday, describing it as "life-shaping and life-affirming". "What an education it was," he said. "I had thought that the school I had been attending in Scotland was remote and testing enough, but nothing had quite prepared me for the realities of the bush country around Mount Buller. All I can say is that I arrived as an adolescent and left as a more rounded – if not even somewhat chiselled – character once I had contended with brown snakes, leeches, funnel-web spiders and bull ants." 

The School was well represented at the Parliamentary Reception, with our Principal, Rebecca Cody, and Australia's Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles (P'84), in attendance. The Royal visit ended on a high note, with King Charles and Queen Camilla welcomed by thousands of fans at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday. The King will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa from October 24-26.