Royals thank Australia for 'special welcome' after King Charles and Camilla land in Sydney

King Charles and Queen Camilla landed in Sydney on Friday night at around 8:30pm, marking the first visit by a reigning king to Australia. The royals were greeted by the sails of the Opera House being lit up with a photo montage of the monarch's previous visits to Australia.

It had been planned that the sails would be lit up as the royals flew into Sydney, however, there was a delay to the projections due to a passing cruise ship. The photo montage was curated by the NSW Government and was intended to showcase the "diverse ways in which Their Majesties have engaged with and celebrated NSW and Australia over the years."

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And it would appear as though the royals loved the $97k gesture, with the official royal family social media accounts sharing a photo of the lit-up Opera House, with the message: "Thank you for the special welcome, Australia! 🇦🇺 The King and Queen have touched down in Sydney to begin their visit to Australia.

"The visit marks His Majesty’s first visit to a Realm as Sovereign."

Aussies divided over Charles and Camilla's royal tour

"Exciting times for Australia!" one royal fan wrote on X. "A royal visit always brings a sense of celebration and connection. It will be interesting to see how their itinerary unfolds!"

"Wishing their majesty’s an amazing, memorable and exciting tour of incredible Australia," another said.

"Wow! What a wonderful welcome," a third said.

Others described the photo montage as "breathtaking" and "stunning", but not everyone has been a fan of the photo montage and the huge cost of putting it on.

"Cannot support wasting our taxes on people who wouldn’t be here if we didn’t pay," one disgruntled person said on Facebook.

"At a time when rents are sky high ...more and more homeless.. Hospitals are overcrowded...Food and petrol prices are ridiculous...Do you really think it excites battling Aussies...having money spent this way?" another person asked.

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"How many homeless could be housed with the money spent on a visit by millionaires, paid by us?" someone else enquired.

"Waste of money! Channel the funds to the needy. King who with the horse?!," was another remarked.

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