The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall have arrived at an air force base outside Adelaide for the start of a five-day Australian tour.
The royal pair arrived in a RAAF Boeing 737 VIP jet about 1pm local time on Tuesday from New Zealand, where they have spent the past week.
Under an overcast sky, Prince Charles and Camilla were met on the tarmac by the governor general, Sir Peter Cosgrove, the South Australian governor, Hieu Van Le, and the state premier, Jay Weatherill.
In a beige suit, a poppy brightly displayed on his lapel, Prince Charles chatted amiably with the welcoming party as he and his wife were led to a waiting convoy. Ten RAAF stair guards hovered nearby and saluted the pair as their white BMW, number plate 1, left RAAF base Edinburgh north of Adelaide.
In South Australia for just a few hours, the couple will visit the Barossa valley region to view local artworks and community projects, take a tour of the Seppeltsfield winery, and see a showcase of premium regional food and wine.
Later the Duchess of Cornwall will attend a roundtable on domestic violence with the Australian of the Year, Rosie Batty, who has become a leading campaigner against family violence after her son, Luke, was murdered by his father in 2014.
The Prince of Wales will head to Bowden in Adelaide’s inner west for an update on the Prince’s Terraces, a landmark housing project funded by his charity, the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community. Theterraces and apartments aim to demonstrate sustainable housing development in line with the foundation’s aim to promote the “return of human values of architecture”.
This month the project, in which homes are expected to use half as much energy and water as a typical house, was awarded Australia’s first six-star energy rating.
On Wednesday their royal highnesses will attend Memorial Day ceremonies at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and meet Australia’s new prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, the former leader of the country’s republican movement.
Later in the week they will visit Sydney. They will end their tour on Sunday in Western Australia.
