Britain’s King Charles was granted a five-star rank in each branch of Australia’s armed forces on Saturday, a ceremonial gesture to mark the first full day of his landmark tour of the country.
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In addition to being king of realm, he can now call himself field marshal of Australia’s army, marshal of its air force and admiral of the fleet.
It was not a bad day’s work for the 75-year-old monarch, who spent Saturday recuperating and without public engagements after a marathon flight from London to Sydney.
The king – who received the life-changing cancer diagnosis just eight months ago – and Queen Camilla have begun a nine-day visit to Australia and Samoa, the first major foreign tour since being crowned.
They landed in Sydney on Friday and were greeted by local dignitaries and posy-bearing children, before a quick private meeting with Australia’s staunchly republican Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his fiancée.
“We are really looking forward to returning to this beautiful country to celebrate the extraordinarily rich cultures and communities that make it so special,” the royal couple said in a social media post ahead of their arrival.