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Officials were left disappointed after hoping for a ‘royal flush’ when King Charles visited the New South Wales Parliament in Sydney today.
They had been secretly hoping the sovereign might be tempted to avail himself of their facilities during an engagement – what’s known in the royal household as a ‘comfort break’.
That’s because, according to the Australian Daily Telegraph, MPs were desperately hoping to finally get their money’s worth after costly renovations to the toilets 30 years ago in advance of a visit by Queen Elizabeth.
Apparently no expense was spared for the 1992 visit, with the toilet specifically upgraded ahead of Her Majesty’s arrival, to ensure it was ‘soundproof’.
The bathroom renovations are believed to have cost some AUS$18,000 (£9,263) at the time, the equivalent of around $40,000 (£30,000) in today’s money – and taxpayers picked up the bill.
Officials were left disappointed after hoping for a ‘royal flush’ when King Charles (pictured) visited the New South Wales Parliament in Sydney today
King Charles and Camilla took on their first full day of engagements on their five-day whistle stop tour of Australia yesterday
The toilet is located in the Upper House President’s office suite, which was allocated to the Queen and Prince Philip as a place to ‘rest’ in between parliamentary engagements.
Despite the costly soundproofing, those familiar with the event say there was ‘no evidence’ that the Queen ever availed herself of the facilities, the newspaper reported.
And anyone who knows much about royal engagements will understand that members of the royal family rarely do so.
The King is known not even to drink water on visits during the day unless necessary so as to minimise the need to do so.
The newspaper quoted MPs who had been joking that their Upper House President, Ben Franklin, had ‘one job’ for when King Charles attends parliament.
‘Ben has one KPI – ensure the King uses the toilet so we can get our money’s worth,’ one quipped.
In the event, His Majesty was in the building for just 20 minutes, meeting and greeting representatives and giving a short speech.
Apparently no expense was spared for the late Queen’s 1992 visit Down Under, with the toilets specifically upgraded ahead of Her Majesty’s arrival, to ensure they were ‘soundproof’ (The late Queen pictured on a visit to Paris in 1992)
The royals were pictured taking a stroll together on their first morning in Australia yesterday on the first day of their five-day visit to the country
On Sunday, Charles and Camilla arrived in North Sydney for their first full day of royal engagements
Arriving at St Thomas’ Anglican Church in the morning, they were greeted with the warmest of welcomes on Sunday, with swathes of fans gathering to catch a glimpse of the British royals
Camilla, wearing a pale green Anna Valentine dress and straw hat, was gifted a posy before they were received by the Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Reverend Kanishka Raffel and the Bishop of North Sydney, Right Reverend Chris Edwards
On Sunday, Charles and Camilla arrived in North Sydney for their first full day of royal engagements.
Arriving at St Thomas’ Anglican Church in the morning, they were greeted with the warmest of welcomes, with swathes of fans gathering to catch a glimpse of the British royals.
Handed armfuls of flowers, toy koalas and even some kangaroo jerky, the couple were repeatedly thanked for making the long journey over, particularly in light of His Majesty’s on-going cancer treatment.
Fans waiting inside the church grounds – including dozens of Sunday school children – were thrilled to shake hands with the King and Queen.
Camilla, wearing a pale green Anna Valentine dress and straw hat, was gifted a posy before they were received by the Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Reverend Kanishka Raffel and the Bishop of North Sydney, Right Reverend Chris Edwards.
Inside, the Archbishop highlighted St Thomas’ royal history before the Reverend Michael Mantle, Rector of the Parish of North Sydney started by welcoming the royal guests, saying: ‘It is an enormous honour for us to welcome you to our church this morning.’
At the conclusion of the hour-long service, the King and Queen were wished safe travels for the rest of their trip before they made their way to the front where they signed Australia’s first Bible and a book of common prayer.
The couple are staying at Admiralty House, the official residence of the governor-general of Australia, which has sweeping views across Sydney Harbour to the Opera House.
The couple are staying at Admiralty House, the official residence of the governor-general of Australia, which has sweeping views across Sydney Harbour to the Opera House
Fans waiting inside the church grounds – including dozens of Sunday school children – were thrilled to shake hands with the King and Queen
Every member of the Royal Family has signed the Bible, which belonged to Rev Richard Johnson, the first Christian Minister in Australia, on previous royal visits.
The late Queen Elizabeth signed it in 1954 during the first visit of a reigning monarch to these shores, with the Archbishop saying the Bible ‘represents a significant history of this church and nation’.
The royals were pictured taking a stroll together on their first morning in Australia on the first day of their five-day visit to the country.
The pair were spotted ambling on the lawns of Admiralty House in Kirribilli on Sydney’s north shore around on the first day of their whistle-stop visit.
His Majesty cut a casual yet stylish figure in an open-necked blue shirt paired with a beige sports jacket and cream chinos, while Camilla opted for a dark blue summer dress and matching cardigan.
The Queen looked effortlessly chic as she admired the gardens behind a pair of sunglasses, while Charles squinted into the bright morning sun.
They were both seen chatting with the King’s bearded personal bodyguard and other members of their security detail.
On Friday night, the sails of the Opera House were illuminated with images of previous Royal visits to Australia.
The lighting up of the landmark was organised despite the New South Wales (NSW) government having axed a similar proposal for the Coronation due to cost.
The Royal visit is the couple’s first trip to Australia since Charles became King in 2022.
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