Royal news live: King Charles jokes about ‘sands of time’ as he gifts hourglass to local Australian parliament

King Charles joked about the “sands of time” as he presented an hourglass to a local Australian parliament which was celebrating its 200th anniversary.

The King was also present at the Legislative Council of New South Wales’ 150th anniversary in 1974.

He gifted the timepiece - which sits on a cedar base made from the trees from the grounds of his Highgrove home - and suggested it could be used as a “speech timer” for the parliament .

“Democratic systems must evolve, of course, to remain fit for purpose, but they are, nevertheless, essentially sound systems, as I said in this building 50 years ago,” he told the council.

“With the sands of time encouraging brevity, it just remains for me to say 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.”

Meanwhile, Charles was presented with multiple honorary ranks in Australia’s armed forces within hours of arriving for his first visit down under as King.