Children greet King Charles III and Queen Camilla outside a Sydney church

SYDNEY (AP) — King Charles III and Queen Camilla were greeted by children Sunday outside a Sydney church in their first public appearance of their Australian visit.

Charles’ arrival Friday marked the first reigning British monarch visit to Australia since his late mother Queen Elizabeth II made her 16th journey to the distant nation in 2011.

Charles, 75, is being treated for cancer, which has led to a scaled-down itinerary.

The couple spent a rest day on Saturday at Admiralty House, the official Sydney residence of the monarch’s representative in Australia, Governor-General Sam Mostyn.

The royals’ first public engagement was at a service at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in North Sydney. As Charles and Camilla made their way to the front of church, Sunday school children waving Australian flags cheered and shook hands with the couple. Inside, dozens of phones pointed in their direction, while excited whispers echoed through the room. After the service, the king and queen were greeted outside by hundreds of cheering people hoping to catch a glimpse or snap a photo.

Sunday’s service was restricted to the local congregation, with only a few special guests allowed to attend, such as Mostyn and New South Wales state Governor Margaret Beazley.

A small group of protesters demonstrated nearby under a banner that read, “Empire Built on Genocide.”

The couple later attended the New South Wales state Parliament to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Australia’s first legislature.

Charles gifted Parliament an hourglass, which is traditionally used to limit the duration of lawmakers’ speeches.

“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,” Charles said.

It is Charles’ 17th trip to Australia and the first since he became king in 2022.

The couple will attend a reception in the national capital, Canberra, on Monday. All government leaders of Australia’s six states have declined invitations to attend, which monarchists have interpreted as a snub. The non-attendants are all republicans who would prefer an Australian citizen as the nation’s head of state, rather than Britain’s monarch.

On Wednesday, Charles will travel to Samoa, where he will open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

___

This story corrects that the king gave the hourglass, he did not receive it.