Royal news - live: Charles shares ‘cheeky’ joke with rugby player as King lands in Samoa for climate summit

King Charles learned about new technology being developed to tackle bushfires on the second day of his Australian tour.

A post on the official royal family Twitter/X account read: The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, is undertaking research, developing models and testing equipment, to study the spread of bushfires under a range of weather conditions.

“The King watched demonstrations and spoke to firefighters about their experience using newly developed equipment, thanks to CSIRO’s studies.”

King Charles and Queen Camilla’s packed schedule of engagements on their royal tour of Australia also saw the queen consort recognise the achievements of young, Australian writers.

A post on the official royal family Twitter/X account said: “At Green Square Library, Her Majesty spent time with talented young Australians taking part in workshops with authors, before meeting past winners of The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (@RoyalCWSociety).”

Royal fans who had the opportunity to meet and glimpse King Charles and Queen Camilla on the second day of their Australian tour have praised the “historic occasion”.

The couple took the opportunity to greet their many well-wishers outside Parliament House in Canberra on Monday, where the king gave a poignant speech about his experience of Australia and vision for its future.

Kathy Carter and her family, who made “We love you” signs” said: “We would have sat here for another two hours. It’s the pomp and ceremony ... but on the other hand, they’re so realistic and down to earth.”

Dressed in a Union Jack-covered jacket, royal fan Serena added: “It’s a historic occasion.”

The second day of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s ongoing tour also saw the couple visit the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra.

The King not only inspected the plants on display but took the opportunity to plant a tree of his own, a water gum, which he requested to see again once it is a little bigger.

An Indigenous man was arrested near the Sydney Opera House today as he protested the ongoing royal visit.

Wayne “Coco” Wharton encouraged the crowd of well-wishers to leave Australia with the King.

“Go home with the King,” he said. “He is a King of thieves and a King of liars. You have no receipt, you have no agreement on the occupation of this country. You are a nation of thieves. You’re guilty.”

Following his arrest, the crowd cheered.

As he was being led away by authorities, Mr Wharton added: “What gives you the right to do this? These systems, these police, they create this environment. This King of England has the power to sack the prime minister, why doesn’t have the power to fix the wrongs he has done?”

Police told the protestor that the hundreds-strong crowd was there “for a nice peaceful day.”

According to Mr Wharton’s daughter, Nellie Pollard-Wharton, he was attempting to issue an arrest notice for King Charles because of the historic treatment of Australia’s aboriginal people.

King Charles was pictured embracing a member of Australia’s “stolen generation”, Uncle James Michael ‘Widdy’ Welsh.

The monarch, 75, simply said “Hugs are good” as he embraced Mr Welsh at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in Sydney on the third day of his tour. The surprise embrace came after Mr Welsh admitted that he does not like handshakes.

Mr Welsh, 72, was taken from his family when he was just eight years old and placed in the Kinchela boys home, where he was given the number 36.

The so-called stolen generation were systematically removed from their families in a bid to eradicate Indigenous culture. The policy came to an end in 1970.

Mr Welsh said: “It was good he was there and he appreciated the hug as he hugged me back. I had a really good feeling about him. I got the feeling he is somebody who genuinely cares.

“I wouldn’t mind sitting down and having a yarn with him, to be honest, and tell him everything that has happened and how to help the children coming up for a better future.”

King Charles and Queen Camilla have completed the final engagement of their Australian tour – a fleet review of the Royal Australian Navy in Sydney Harbour.

This brings to a close the Australian tour of the couple’s ongoing tour. They will now travel to Samoa, where they are scheduled to undertake two days’ worth of engagements.

King Charles appears to have brushed off a protest from an Indigenous Australian senator on the third and final day of his tour.

During a visit to the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in Sydney, the King met with First Nations elders. One told him their goal was “sovereignty” in an apparent reference to a protest on Monday.

The monarch was accused of “genocide” against Australia’s First Nations by Senator Lidia Thorpe who told him, “You are not my King.”

Ms Thorpe, of English, Irish, Djab Wurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara descent, from Victoria, has long advocated for a treaty between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to recognise their autonomy and set right historical wrongs.

King Charles visited a pioneering Australian cancer centre on the final day of his Australian tour.

The monarch met with brain cancer survivor Richard Scolyer at the Melanoma Institute Australia, who is in remission after undergoing pioneering surgery last year.

He also learned about the work being done at the centre to combat melanoma – one of the most commonly diagnosed types of cancer in Australia.

“That was an amazing opportunity for us to tell the king about what we’re doing here trying to deal with Australia’s national cancer, and to talk about how we’re trying to get to zero deaths from melanoma,” Mr Scolyer said.

Charles, 75, was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer earlier this year. He has temporarily paused his treatment for the duration of his ongoing tour.

King Charles was met by an unusual royal well-wisher on the second day of his tour of Australia – nine-year-old alpaca, Hephner.

The pair met at the Australian War Memorial, where the king and queen consort laid wreaths in honour of Australia’s fallen on Tuesday.

Owner Robert Fletcher said: “The King just looked in disbelief. But it’s just who Hefner is. He is an alpaca after all.

“He doesn’t bite and he doesn’t spit. He’s always on his best behaviour anyway.

“And he is a pro-monarchy alpaca.”