King Charles cheekily joked that Australian students can blame him if they fail his exams.
The 75-year-old monarch spoke to schoolchildren in the grounds of Government House in Canberra today as part of his tour of Australia with his wife Queen Camilla.
The king addressed the group of young children – who appeared to be of primary school age – and wished them: ‘Good luck with all your dreaded exams.
He then joked: “You can always blame us if it doesn’t work out.”
Together with his wife, Queen Camilla, the king has already had a busy day in Australia.
King Charles (pictured) wished Australian students good luck with their exams today, during his busy second day in the country
The king addressed the group of young children – who appeared to be of primary school age: “Good luck with all your dreaded exams.”
The royal family took part in a tree planting ceremony at Government House, shortly afterwards stopping to chat with a group of young schoolchildren to wish them good luck with their education.
Charles looked good in the Navy during the second day of official assignments, despite jet lag after the long flight to Australia.
He wore a crisp navy blue suit and white shirt, along with a sweet floral pocket square.
Meanwhile, Camilla also appeared cheerfully, wearing a long blue and white floral dress with her white locks perfectly blow-dried around her shoulders.
Earlier in the day, the royals had visited an Australian war memorial and attended Parliament before heading to the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
While at Government House, the royals took part in a tree planting ceremony where they planted two Snow Gum trees – before continuing with a visit to the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Located on the lower slopes of Black Mountain in Canberra, the Australian Botanical Gardens boast the world’s most comprehensive display of living Australian native plants – it is the center of Australian biodiversity research.
The Queen spoke to a selection of volunteers from the gardens and another group of schoolchildren about the Banksia species, before having the opportunity to take part in nature-based educational activities with the children.
When asked how her trip had been so far, Camilla exclaimed that it was “amazing” and praised the “perfect weather.”
She and Charles then walked through the picturesque flora.
Charles had also met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and visited a scientific research agency to see how bushfires are being tackled.
Earlier, the king and queen arrived at Parliament House in Canberra – where he was heckled by Green Senator Lidia Thorpe, 51, who shouted that the monarch had “committed genocide against our people” and added: “F*** the colony’.
After speeches in Parliament House by the King, the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter DutonSenator Thorpe walked down the aisle of the Great Hall shouting, “You have committed genocide against our people.”
The monarch himself spent time at an Australian school during his youth, spending two terms at the acclaimed Timbertop school in 1966 – aged just 17
You can always blame us if it doesn’t work out,” he joked to the young people, who would have missed time in class to greet the royal family.
Before the dramatic scene, Charles had given a speech in Parliament, reflecting on his own experiences in the Australian education system
The independent senator from Victoria added: “Give us our country back. Give us what you stole from us. Our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You have destroyed our country. Give us a treaty. We want a treaty.’
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on Senator Thorpe’s outburst, but sources waved the lone protester away, saying Their Majesties were “deeply moved” by the warmth of the welcome they had received all day.
The royals were not marred by the outburst and were said to be ‘unaffected’ by the tirade which they hoped would not overshadow an otherwise ‘beautiful day’.
Mr Albanese thanked the king for his ‘extraordinary duty to traditions’.
Before the dramatic scene, Charles had given a speech in Parliament, reflecting on his own experiences in the Australian education system.
The monarch himself spent time in an Australian school during his childhood, spending two terms at the acclaimed Timbertop school in 1966 – aged just 17.
Timbertop is a campus at the Geelong Grammar school near Victoria in the Oceanian country. It features a demanding academic syllabus and an intensive outdoor program for the full-fledged students.
As he addressed Parliament House today, Charles reflected on his own Australian education almost 60 years ago.
He remembered the experience at Timbertop – hidden in the Australian bush, a three-hour drive from Melbourne – as “life-shaping and life-affirming”.
The school down there was very different from his previous education at the prestigious Gordonstoun school in Scotland.
In a speech at Parliament House in Canberra, the King said: ‘My own first visit [to Australia] came in 1966…when I was indeed given the life-shaping and life-affirming opportunity to continue part of my education in Victoria.’
Earlier in the day, the royals had visited an Australian war memorial and attended Parliament before heading to the Australian National Botanic Gardens.
While at the Australian Botanic Gardens, the Queen spoke to a selection of volunteers from the gardens and school children about the Banksia species, before having the opportunity to take part in nature-based educational activities with the children
The Queen spoke to a selection of volunteers from the gardens and school children about the Banksia species, before having the opportunity to take part in nature-based educational activities with the children
At the Botanical Gardens, Camilla chatted with local schoolchildren, who presented her with flowers
Charles’s very first visit to Australia was in every way for his education – and was the foundation from which his love for the nation blossomed
“Ladies and gentlemen, what an education it was,” he said, recalling fondly his time at the country school.
‘I had thought the school I attended in Scotland was remote and sufficiently challenging, but nothing quite prepared me for the reality of the bushland around Mount Buller.
“All I can say is that I arrived as an adolescent and left a rounder, if not a little chiseled, character, after dealing with brown snakes, leeches, funnel-web spiders and bull ants.
“And considering this was almost sixty years ago, when I was fed certain untold parts of a bull calf from a surf farm in outback Queensland.”
Charles’s very first visit to Australia was in every way for his education – and provided the foundation from which his love for the nation blossomed.