King Charles has presented New South Wales Parliament with an hourglass to mark the “passing of time” of his relationship with Australia, on his most recent trip.

The King first visited Australia in 1966 when he spent six months at a Victoria boarding school, and this trip marks his 17th trip to the country, where he has been head of state since 2022.

The royal joked that the gift was a “speech timer” to sit in the chamber and “bear witness to the legislative council’s next chapter.”

He ended the speech by acknowledging the “great joy of visiting Australia for the first time as sovereign.”