Surprising cost of King Charles' Aussie dinner item revealed amid taxpayer backlash

While plenty of royal fans have expressed their excitement over King Charles and Queen Camilla's trip to Australia, others haven’t been too thrilled by just how much taxpayer money is being splashed out on the visit. The royal tour, which marks the first visit by a reigning king to Australia, began on Friday when they touched down in Sydney and will end on Wednesday when they fly to Samoa.

As members of the public have been questioning the cost of the monarch’s visit, it appears there may have been some cost-cutting at the Federal government’s Parliamentary Reception on Monday night. King Charles and Queen Camilla attended a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Ms Jodie Haydon at the Great Hall where all five wines on the menu are surprisingly available for under $40.

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The royal selection included:

• Josef Chromy Sparkling NV (RRP $32.99)

• Hentley Farm Eden Valley Riesling (RRP $28)

• Hentley Farm Barossa Shiraz (RRP $36.50)

• Castelli Silver Series Chardonnay (RRP $25)

• Cape Mentelle Marmaduke Cabernet Sauvignon (RRP $21.99)

David Moulton, Chief Winemaker at Margaret River winery Cape Mentelle, tells Yahoo Lifestyle it is “really exciting” having their Cabernet Sauvignon on the wine list.

“We received a picture message of the menu, and it worked its way across the entire business - it brought such a positive energy to the team,” he shares. “The door is always open to the King next time he wants to venture out of NSW and visit us here in Margaret River, so long as the door is open to Cape Mentelle to serve our wines in the palace!”

David went on to say that the wine is “pretty unique” as there is no oak influence on the wine, adding: “We're wanting the site to speak and it's all about fruit profile. It's not an overly made or created wine and a reflection of Margaret River.”

Royal beer selection slammed online

The menu, which had a selection of savoury and sweet canapés, also listed three beer selections: Great Northern, Great Northern zero alcohol, and Furphy.

After a photo of the menu was shared on X, social media users expressed their surprise at which beers had made the cut.

“Good to see a couple of WA wineries in the wine selection. But those beer selections are horrendous,” one person wrote, while another added, “Excellent wine paired with our worst beers”.

“As well as crap beer, the wine list is very much on the budget side. Probably not a bad thing seeing how much they cost the taxpayer usually,” a third remarked.

“That beer choice is an afterthought by someone that does not understand, know or like beer. Crazy,” a different user replied.

“LOL Great Northern… may as well gone all out and had VB and Carlton Draft,” someone else shared, followed by another who joked, “I thought Crown Lager and XXXX would have got a run”.

King Charles' controversial $97k gift on arrival in Sydney

King Charles and Queen Camilla’s visit to Canberra comes just a few days after the NSW Government’s expensive gift for the royal couple raised plenty of eyebrows. To commemorate the pair’s visit - their first since 2018 - the sails of the Sydney Opera House were illuminated for four minutes on Friday night with images from previous royal visits.

“We are lighting up the Sydney Opera House to warmly welcome The King and Queen to our beautiful harbour city,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said in a statement. “The photo projection on the Opera House sails celebrates a historic moment - The King’s first visit to NSW as Sovereign - and is a fitting tribute.”

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The gesture cost an estimated $97,030 - despite the premier scrapping plans for a similar activation in 2022 to commemorate the King's coronation. At the time, he said lighting up the Opera House would be too much of a burden on the Australian taxpayer.

“Cannot support wasting our taxes on people who wouldn’t be here if we didn’t pay,” one disgruntled person said on Facebook, with someone else commenting, “How many homeless could be housed with the money spent on a visit by millionaires, paid by us?”.

“Waste of money! Channel the funds to the needy. King who with the horse?!” another remarked.

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