Royal news live: King Charles sends message to Australia as monarch arrives for first visit since cancer diagnosis

King Charles and Queen Camilla have expressed their excitement at returning to “beautiful” Australia ahead of the first day of their royal tour.

The couple, who will tour Australia and Samoa for eight days, will make their first appearance in Sydney where the Opera House will be lit up for four minutes with images from previous royal visits to mark their arrival.

“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,” the royals said in a joint statement.

“See you there! – Charles R & Camilla R.”

The statement was accompanied by archive footage from previous royal tours of the country.

As well as being Charles’s first visit to Australia as reigning monarch, the visit will also be his first overseas trip since being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.

The monarch, 75, is said to be temporarily pausing his treatment for the trip, but he will be accompanied by two doctors as a precautionary measure.