King Charles and Queen Camilla greet royal fans outside Sydney church

King Charles III attended church Sunday as he began an Australian tour in earnest, giving antipodean admirers the first glimpse of their reigning monarch.

His first official public appearance was a Sunday morning service at St Thomas' Anglican Church in northern Sydney, a stone edifice built as a place of worship for British colonial settlers. Charles will later address the New South Wales state parliament and make a short trip to Admiralty House for a string of closed-door meetings with high-ranking officials.