An Aboriginal smoking ceremony will welcome King Charles III to Australia's capital Canberra on Monday, where the monarch will spotlight past war efforts and a new fight against climate change. Charles -- who received a life-changing cancer diagnosis just eight months ago -- is on a nine-day visit to Australia and Samoa, the first major foreign tour since he was crowned. Smouldering native plants will be wafted over the king in a greeting ritual that begins one of the busiest legs of his six-day Australia tour.
Bearing a swag of new military honours bestowed over the weekend, Charles will pay his respects at Australia's imposing national war memorial. A 21-gun salute will then herald the king's arrival at parliament, which the sovereign will address for the first time as head of state. The rest of the day has been set aside for causes close to the 75-year-old's heart -- namely conservation and climate change.
Charles will visit a purpose-built lab at Australia's public science agency, which is used to study the bushfires that routinely ravage swathes of the country. Later he will stroll through plots of native flowers at Australia's national botanic garden, discussing how a heating planet imperils the country's many unique species. A lifelong greenie, Charles' passion for conservation once saw him painted as a bit of an oddball.
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