King and Queen land in rainy Sydney for scaled-down historic tour

ITV News' Royal Editor Chris Ship reports from Sydney, where the King and Queen have arrived for their tour of Australia

A heavy thunderstorm preceded the arrival of King Charles in Sydney as he stepped foot on Australian soil - his first visit here as King.

The military flight coming in from Singapore had to pick its way through the storm clouds as the pilot touched down at Sydney airport.

It was a marked contrast to the arrival of Queen Elizabeth on her first trip to Australia as monarch in 1954, when she sailed into Sydney harbour in glorious sunshine.

An estimated one million people crowded around the waters to see her.

A plan to light up Sydney‘s famous Opera house with images of King Charles on his previous visit to Australia, suffered a delay.

Ironically, the delay was caused by Queen Elizabeth, the cruise ship, which was blocking the projector but couldn’t sail out on time because of the severe weather conditions.

Friday’s arrival kicks off a five day royal tour down under which has had to be scaled back following the King’s cancer diagnosis.

King Charles peers through the plane window after arriving in Australia. Credit: PA

In a rare personal post on social media, signed “Charles R and Camilla R”, the King and Queen wrote if of their great love of this country.

“Ahead of our first visit to Australia as King and Queen, we are really looking forward to returning to this beautiful country to celebrate the extraordinarily rich cultures and communities that make it so special. See you there! Charles R & Camilla R.”

After an informal catch up with the Prime Minister on Friday night, the King and Queen have been given what the programme calls “a down day” to help them both overcome their jet lag.

Official visits pick up again on Sunday in Sydney followed by a quick trip to the Australian capital on Monday to make a speech in Parliament House.

The final day takes in a long list of events back in Sydney including a Review of the Fleet in the harbour and meeting as many Australians as possible at Sydney Oprah House.

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The King and Queen will later travel to Samoa for a three-day state visit, and meet world leaders taking part in a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which Charles will formally open.

The overseas tour has been curtailed on advice from doctors, with a visit to New Zealand dropped from the itinerary and other changes made to the programme.

This is the Talking Royals - our weekly podcast about the royal family, with ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson