King Charles Visits Melanoma Clinic in Sydney and Meets Cancer Survivors

 Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla pose for pictures in front of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney on October 22, 2024, as the Sydney Harbor Bridge is seen in the background. (AFP)
Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla pose for pictures in front of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney on October 22, 2024, as the Sydney Harbor Bridge is seen in the background. (AFP)
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King Charles Visits Melanoma Clinic in Sydney and Meets Cancer Survivors

 Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla pose for pictures in front of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney on October 22, 2024, as the Sydney Harbor Bridge is seen in the background. (AFP)
Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla pose for pictures in front of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney on October 22, 2024, as the Sydney Harbor Bridge is seen in the background. (AFP)

King Charles visited a skin cancer clinic in Sydney on Tuesday where he met cancer survivors and researchers working on cures for the disease.

The visit to the Melanoma Institute Australia was one of the final public appearances Charles made on his 16th official visit to the country, his first major overseas trip since being diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer.

There was no mention of the King's own diagnosis during the visit, where Charles met melanoma survivor Adam Brown and his family. Brown was given 12 months to live when he was diagnosed in 2015.

Brown, along with wife Kristy, introduced their children as their “two miracles”.

The King offered his congratulations to Brown although jokingly wondered why the children were meeting him during school hours.

Charles also met renowned melanoma researcher and brain cancer survivor Richard Scolyer. Diagnosed with brain cancer last year, Scolyer underwent world-first surgery and his tumor is in remission.

Scolyer was joined on Tuesday by fellow researcher Georgina Long. Both were named Australians of the Year in January for their research into melanomas.

"That was an amazing opportunity for us to tell the king about what we're doing here trying to deal with Australia's national cancer, and to talk about how we're trying to get to zero deaths from melanoma," Scolyer said.

Earlier in the day Charles met Indigenous elders in inner-city Redfern, the home of the urban Aboriginal civil rights movement, and was embraced by elder Michael Welsh

The moment was in sharp contrast to Monday when Charles was heckled at Parliament House in Canberra by independent senator and Indigenous activist Lidia Thorpe who shouted that she did not accept his sovereignty over Australia.

The Royal couple will close the day with a fleet review of the Royal Australian Navy in Sydney Harbor.



Prince William Says Visit With Diana to Homeless Shelter Was Eye-Opener

This handout photograph released by Kensington Palace on October 25, 2024, shows Britain's Princess Diana (2R) with her 11-year-old son William (L), now Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales in the kitchens during one of his first visits to homelessness charity, The Passage in London, taken on December 14, 1993.. (Photo by THE PASSAGE / AFP)
This handout photograph released by Kensington Palace on October 25, 2024, shows Britain's Princess Diana (2R) with her 11-year-old son William (L), now Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales in the kitchens during one of his first visits to homelessness charity, The Passage in London, taken on December 14, 1993.. (Photo by THE PASSAGE / AFP)
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Prince William Says Visit With Diana to Homeless Shelter Was Eye-Opener

This handout photograph released by Kensington Palace on October 25, 2024, shows Britain's Princess Diana (2R) with her 11-year-old son William (L), now Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales in the kitchens during one of his first visits to homelessness charity, The Passage in London, taken on December 14, 1993.. (Photo by THE PASSAGE / AFP)
This handout photograph released by Kensington Palace on October 25, 2024, shows Britain's Princess Diana (2R) with her 11-year-old son William (L), now Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales in the kitchens during one of his first visits to homelessness charity, The Passage in London, taken on December 14, 1993.. (Photo by THE PASSAGE / AFP)

Prince William has recalled how his late mother Princess Diana took him to a shelter for homeless people when he was just 11 years old, saying how the visit opened his eyes to how others lived a different life to him.
In an extract from a documentary about his efforts to end homelessness to be broadcast this week, the heir to the British throne said how Diana introduced him and his younger brother Prince Harry to the cause as part of her determination to raise wider awareness of social issues from AIDS to mental health, Reuters said.
"I'd never been to anything like that before, and I was a bit anxious as to what to expect. My mother went about her usual part of making everyone feel relaxed and having a laugh and joking with everyone," William said of the 1993 visit to The Passage charity in London.
Last June, the elder son of King Charles launched a five-year project "Homewards" which he said was inspired by Diana.
Homeless charities say it is hard to know exactly how many people are living on the streets but statistics released this month said 178,560 households were assessed as homeless in England in 2023-24, up 12.3% on the year before.
In focusing on homelessness, William said he was "desperately trying to help people who are in need, and I see that as part of my role".
He recalled during his visit to The Passage playing chess and chatting with those there.
"That's when it informed me that there are other people out there who don't have the same life as you do," he says in the documentary. "When you're quite small ... you just think life is what you see in front of you. You don't really have concept to look elsewhere.
"And it's when you meet people that I did then who put a different perspective in your head and say ... I was living on the street last night."
The full ITV documentary, "Prince William: We Can End Homelessness", will be shown on Oct. 30 and 31.