King Charles, Queen Camilla attend church in Sydney, meet cheering crowd

Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla met large, cheering crowds in Sydney after attending a church service on Sunday, the first event of their Australia tour.

The royal couple were greeted at St Thomas' Anglican Church by the archbishop of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, and children from the church's Sunday school who waved Australian flags.

Camilla, wearing a pale green Anna Valentine dress and straw hat, was given a flower bouquet by the minister's wife, Ellie Mantle, who asked if they had recovered from jet lag after the long flight to Australia on Friday. "Sort of," Camilla replied.

Inside the church, Charles and Camilla signed two bibles, including one that belonged to Australia's first minister and chaplain of the First Fleet of ships that took convicts from Britain to the penal colony of Australia in 1788.

Outside, the royal couple shook hands and chatted with families and cheering fans, some singing "God Save the King", who lined the streets around the church, the public's first opportunity to meet Charles and Camilla since they arrived in Australia's biggest city on Friday night.

Travelling across Sydney Harbour, Charles visited the New South Wales parliament, marking the 200th anniversary of Australia's oldest legislature.

The king, in a light grey suit, presented the lawmakers with an hour glass to time their speeches, and highlighted the fundamental role of strong parliaments to democracies that serve today's diverse societies.

"Democracy has, I believe, an extraordinary capacity for innovation, compromise and adaptability as well as stability," he said.

Charles is making his inaugural visit to an overseas realm as sovereign and his first major foreign trip since being diagnosed with cancer.

It is his 16th official visit to Australia, where he attended school for six months as a teenager in 1966, and spoke at the 150th anniversary of the New South Wales parliament in 1974.

“What a great joy it is to come to Australia for the first time as sovereign and to renew a love of this country and its people which I have cherished for so long,” he said.

He will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa after the six-day Australia tour.

Charles had made a significant personal donation to create a skills programme to tackle climate change and boost higher education in small island states, including the Pacific Islands, the Association of Commonwealth Universities said on Sunday.

"Throughout my life I have believed in the power of education to improve lives and unite communities across the Commonwealth and beyond," he said in a statement.

Mid-career professionals and civil servants will benefit from the fellowships, in a programme that aims to retain talent in small island states and bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change such as rising sea levels.