Awkward moment for King Charles in 'reminder' on Australian tour
King Charles faced an awkwrad reminder of the past when he arrived in Australia this week, having to sign a page just below the signature of his late former wife Diana, Princess of Wales. King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a visit to Australia, and part of their duties ion arrival included signing the country's 'first Bible'.
The Bible has been signed by every visiting member of the Royal Family. The historic book belonged to Rev Richard Johnson, the first Christian Minister in Australia.
The late Queen Elizabeth signed it in 1954 during the first visit of a reigning monarch. Handing it to Charles, the Archbishop said the Bible “represents a significant history of this church and nation”.
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Using his own fountain pen the King signed the Bible on a page beneath the signature of the late Princess of Wales from their 1983 visit. The tour marked a turning point in the marriage of Charles and Dianan, with the then Prince of Wales understood to have been frustrated over the public’s love for Diana.
After an hour-long service at St Thomas’ Church in northern Sydney, the royals made their way outside to loud cheers from the hundreds gathered on the lawn opposite the church. A small group of anti-monarchy protestors also gathered outside under a large decolonise banner, but were drowned out by the well wishers. Charles said to one person: “It’s a beautiful day” as several people shouted: “We love you.”
Later the King joked about the passing “sands of time” after presenting an hourglass he dubbed a “speech timer” to an Australian assembly. Charles could not resist setting the sand in motion after gifting the time piece to the parliament of New South Wales (NSW), celebrating the 200th anniversary of its upper house.
The King, who attended commemorations marking the 150th anniversary of the Legislative Council in 1974, said in a speech to guests: “Democratic systems must evolve, of course, to remain fit for purpose, but they are, nevertheless, essentially sound systems, as I said in this building 50 years ago.
“When underpinned by wisdom and good faith, democracy has, I believe, an extraordinary capacity for innovation, compromise and adaptability, as well as stability. Moreover, strong parliamentary systems, like the one we celebrate on this special occasion, are fundamental to the democracies that serve today’s diverse societies; and are even more vital, given the ever-changing natural, social, economic and technological environment.”
Handmade by the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London, the hourglass stands on a cedar base with the wood supplied from the King’s Highgrove home. Charles made the guests laugh with a quip about time: “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.”
Before Charles and Camilla joined the churchgoers at St Thomas’ Anglican Church, its Rector Michael Mantle made them laugh when he told them: “Jesus said you will not know the day nor the hour when the King will come.”
The Rector’s wife Ellie Mantle had ushered the children out to meet the royals and brought a rugby ball, cricket ball and stuffed koala, gifts for the King’s grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. She said: “It’s a great honour for us as it’s the first opportunity for the public to see the King and Queen.”
Kanishka Raff, Archbishop of Sydney, officiated during the service which featured hymns and prayers and said afterwards: “This church has a family connection with His Majesty because his great grandfather as a teenage boy laid the cornerstone.”
He added: “It was lovely for this local church to be able to welcome the sovereign King Charles and Queen Camilla to join us in worship today. We are absolutely thrilled.”