King Charles to Samoa: I ‘hope I survive long enough to come back & see you’

Here are some photos from King Charles and Queen Camilla’s final event in Samoa, before they jetted off on Saturday. There was a farewell ceremony and then a little event on the tarmac, where Charles and Camilla were supposed to make formal goodbyes to various officials. I’ve seen the videos of Camilla ditching the formal goodbyes and staggering up to the plane ahead of Charles though. Camilla was also in particularly rude form at the farewell ceremony. She was given (?) a large fan and she kept holding the fan over her face to smirk and laugh at the Samoans. The Samoans were doing some kind of performance or ceremony and this horrid woman wouldn’t stop laughing at “the natives.” I’m including some of the clips at the end of the post. Meanwhile, Charles’s big farewell speech was pretty rough:

The King has bade farewell to Samoa, telling his Pacific island hosts he “hopes I survive long enough to come back and see you.” The King, who has paused his cancer treatment to travel to Australia and Samoa, told islanders “I shall always remain devoted to this part of the world”, as he was honoured with a chief title in the final ceremony of his visit. He and the Queen sat on golden chairs, under cover from tropical rain, to view a traditional ceremony, including fire dancers.

At the end of the ceremony, the King was handed a microphone and asked to deliver an unscripted “keynote speech”, during which he thanked Samoa for such a warm welcome, and spoke of his illness.

“We’ve been so impressed by the beautiful way in which all the villages have decorated the roadsides, it is something very special about Samoa,” he said. He thanked residents for their “wonderful generosity” bringing gifts of food and “other wonderful things”, and said the royal couple would take away “special memories of our time here…I shall always remain devoted to this part of the world and hope that I survive long enough to come back again and see you.”

In their final moments in Samoa, the King and Queen waved from the steps of a Royal Australian Air Force jet. They left in heavy rain, matching the conditions when they landed in Sydney ten days ago.

[From The Telegraph]

I think Charles leaned into the “this could be my last big tour” narrative because it legitimately garnered him more sympathetic coverage. Even some of the monarchy’s biggest critics pulled some of their punches because Charles is a 75-year-old man with cancer. It also sounds like the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting actually did not go well at all and the British press is trying desperately to avoid acknowledging that. More than a dozen commonwealth countries didn’t even send high-level representatives to the meeting, and the commonwealth countries agreed to a statement about the case for reparations, much to the dismay of the palace and Downing Street. To top it all off, the ten-day tour was Exhibit A of Why Camilla Is Not a Diplomatic Asset.

#royalvisitsamoa #CHOGM2024 pic.twitter.com/784mZ0TWja

— #NotMyKing (@NoKingCharlie) October 25, 2024

Everything #GoodKingHarry said about this woman was true

Camilla is in it for herself… lazy housewife who used #HarryandMeghan to make her popular and still she can’t stop laughing at people that are showing her the greatest of hospitality#RoyalTour#spare#RoyalTourAustralia pic.twitter.com/D83JnSXA3P

— Judy in da Richmond (@Judyinrichmond) October 26, 2024

Camilla has had enough. She bails on Charles and makes a run for it

For all his faults @NoKingCharlie does not remember Phil The Greek doing this #queencamilla #kingcharles #royalvisitSamoa pic.twitter.com/LnQtLzwsmo

— #NotMyKing (@NoKingCharlie) October 26, 2024

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

Queen Camilla during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa Featuring: Queen Camilla Where: Siumu, Samoa When: 26 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY** King Charles III and Queen Camilla during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Siumu, Samoa When: 26 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY** King Charles III and Queen Camilla talking during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Siumu, Samoa When: 26 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**

King Charles III and Queen Camilla laughing during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Siumu, Samoa When: 26 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY** Queen Camilla laughing during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa Featuring: Queen Camilla Where: Siumu, Samoa When: 26 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY** King Charles III during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa Featuring: King Charles III Where: Siumu, Samoa When: 26 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**

King Charles III and Queen Camilla wave as they board an Royal Australian Air Force plane ahead of departing from Faleolo International Airport in Samoa after the royal visit to Australia and Samoa Featuring: King Charles III and Queen Camilla Where: Faleolo, Samoa When: 26 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**