Sydney officials were left ‘disappointed’ by one very unusual aspect of King Charles’s visit to New South Wales Parliament on Sunday – and it’s all to do with a toilet!
On what was Charles and Camilla’s first full day of engagements on their royal tour, the monarch met with representatives and gave a short speech as he attended the launch of an exhibition marking the 200th anniversary of the Legislative Council, Australia’s first parliament.
But it was his failure to take a loo break that raised eyebrows. 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 the late Queen Elizabeth.
It seems 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 renovations are believed to have cost some AUS$18,000 (£9,263) at the time, the equivalent today of around $40,000 (£30,000).
The toilet in question 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 their parliamentary engagements. Staff were even told to ensure the Queen’s ‘preferred drinks’, including her favoured brand of gin, were available should she wish for refreshment. But insiders later confirmed there was ‘no evidence’ that the Queen ever used the facilities.
Ahead of the King’s visit, MPs had joked that their Upper House President, Ben Franklin, had just ‘one job’ to do for when the King attended parliament. “Ben has one KPI – ensure the King uses the toilet so we can get our money’s worth,” one cheekily told the newspaper.
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But it was all in vain. In the end, His Majesty was in the building for just 20 minutes, meeting and greeting representatives and giving a short speech before departing – having not used the bathroom.
As the couple jetted into Australia , they praised their host’s “extraordinarily rich cultures and communities”. In a message posted on the royal family social media channels, Charles and Camilla said: “Ahead of our first visit to Australia as King and Queen, we are really looking forward to returning to this beautiful country to celebrate the extraordinarily rich cultures and communities that make it so special. See you there!”
Their very first official engagement took part on Sunday at St Thomas’ Anglican church in North Sydney. It was in fact the third day of their six-day tour of Australia – but apart from some handshakes upon landing on Friday night, it was the public’s first chance to see the couple after a rest day on Saturday. The schedule has been designed not to overly tire the king, who is being treated for cancer.
