King Charles and Queen Camilla met thousands of wellwishers during a meet and greet outside Sydney Opera House during their royal tour of Australia – and many belted out God Save The King

A wellwisher told King Charles “everything was worth it to see you” after having to wait for five hours for the monarch and Queen Camilla to arrive at a meet and greet in Sydney.

Charles, 75, apologised to some of the huge crowd for having to wait in the heat near Sydney Opera House. More than 10,000 people turned up – up to three times the expected estimate – and were left waiting for hours for Their Majesties.

After Charles had said sorry, one excited wellwisher replied: “Everything was worth it to see you”. Her interaction came as fans handed armfuls of kangaroo toys, Australian flags and bouquets. The crowd also belted out God Save The King outside tthe iconic landmark in the city in New South Wales.

Mila Gros Calica, 71, who flew in from the Philippines to see the King, said: “I love him so much. I will pray for him every day.” Mila was one of scores of Australians to meet Charles and Camilla at the session, part of their royal tour of Australia.

Queen Camilla attended the meet and greet on Tuesday ( 
Image:
Getty Images)

During their final engagement, the King and Queen were given two caps featuring the acronyms HMTK and HMTQ – His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen – as they bid farewell to Australian military officials.

Today, the King and Queen will formally say farewell to Australia after six days, before heading to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa.

The couple had previously celebrated the best of Australia with a sausage sizzle in scorching temperatures at a community BBQ. At Parramatta Park in northwest Sydney, the royals were welcomed by a Smoking Ceremony and a Didgeridoo player. Charles and Camilla reunited after conducting separate engagements, with the King being introduced to the Premier of NSW, Chris Minns and his wife Anna, while the Queen was introduced to the Deputy Premier of NSW, Prudence Car and her husband Brad Hulls.

Moving towards the smoking ceremony, Charles and Camilla took it in turns to waft the smoke over themselves, a tradition that is meant to be good luck and clear away bad spirits.

The King accepted a bouquet of flowers from Layla, 11, who said: “I wanted to give him a special reminder that the people in Australia are inspired by him.” Remembering what Charles had said to her, she giggled: “He said it’s a good excuse to skip school, aye.” Anthony Field, co-founder of the music group The Wiggles popular with children around the world, met the King in a lineup of VIPs at the community BBQ.

Charles and Camilla wave as they depart from Sydney Airport ( 
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)

Charles’s visit was his first to Australia as King despite his cancer diagnosis and the overseas tour has been curtailed on advice from doctors, with a visit to New Zealand dropped from the itinerary.

Professor Richard Scolyer, co-medical director of the Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA), said the King’s decision to go public with his cancer diagnosis was “courageous” after Charles visited the centre.

Prof Scolyer, one of the world’s leading melanoma specialists, said: “It’s courageous of the King to go public with his cancer journey.” Charles has suspended his treatment while away from the UK and Professor Georgina Long, co-medical director of the MIA, said: “This is a common discussion I have with patients, and my view, and that of my colleagues, is that we are here for quality of life, and so you squeeze things in, you make it happen for people.”