The King and Queen landed in Samoa for a four-day visit royal today where Charles is set to be offered the title of ‘head chief’ before a Commonwealth gathering.
The couple were greeted as they stepped off a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) plane at Faleolo Airport in the Polynesian nation at 7pm local time (7am UK time).
Samoa’s prime minister Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa was waiting to greet Charles and Camilla after they disembarked their jet for the final leg of their overseas trip.
Camilla wore a pink embroidered tunic top and white Palazzo trousers by Anna Valentine, while Charles had a smart grey suit with a blue tie and handkerchief.
The couple arrived in temperatures of 27C (81F) and walked down the plane’s steps onto a red carpet which was held down in the gentle breeze by dozens of pot plants.
After being introduced to a large group of Samoan dignitaries – including His Majesty’s High Commissioner to Samoa, Gareth Hoar – the Samoan Police played the national anthem before His Majesty was invited to inspect the guard of honour.
Lenatai Victor Tamapua, a Samoan chief and member of parliament, planned to offer the King the title of ‘Tui Taumeasina’ or high chief during a traditional welcome.
Samoa’s PM Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa greets Charles and Camilla at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III with Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for their royal tour
King Charles III and Queen Camilla are greeted as they arrive at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III with Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa (left) as he is greeted today
Samoa’s Prime Minister Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa greets Charles at Faleolo Airport today
The King receives a ceremonial welcome as he arrives at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for their royal tour
King Charles III with Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa at Faleolo Airport today
Samoa’s PM Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa greets Charles and Camilla at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III and Queen Camilla are greeted as they arrive at Faleolo Airport today
Queen Camilla speaks with Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today
Samoa’s PM Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa greets Charles and Camilla at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III inspects a guard of honour by the Samoan Police Force at Faleolo Airport today
Samoa’s Prime Minister Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa greets Charles at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III with Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa (left) as he is greeted today
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for their royal tour
Queen Camilla is pictured after arriving at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for the royal tour
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for their royal tour
King Charles III with Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III inspects a guard of honour by the Samoan Police Force at Faleolo Airport today
He will later lead Charles through a walkway on a mangrove reserve as he aims to highlight the impact of climate change on the Pacific nations and its communities.
Mr Tamapua said: ‘The king tide today is about twice that it was 20, 30 years ago, and that is affecting our land, and it’s eating away at some of the areas that are so hard for us to control, and people (have to) move inwards, inland now.’
Samoa, like many Pacific Island countries, has no armed forces – and Their Majesties’ guard of honour today was instead composed of Samoan police officers.
The King walked up and down two lines of guards before returning to his wife and being escorted inside the VIP terminal for talks with the Samoan PM.
Their convoy later sped off to their residence – a resort on the island – ahead of a busy three days of engagements.
King Charles III is pictured after arriving at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for the royal tour
Queen Camilla speaks with Foreign Secretary David Lammy at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today
Samoa’s PM Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa greets Charles and Camilla at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for their royal tour
King Charles III is pictured after arriving at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for the royal tour
King Charles III with Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for their royal tour
King Charles III inspects a guard of honour by the Samoan Police Force at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for their royal tour
King Charles III inspects a guard of honour by the Samoan Police Force at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for their royal tour
King Charles III is pictured after arriving at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for the royal tour
King Charles III is pictured after arriving at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for the royal tour
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for their royal tour
King Charles III inspects a guard of honour by the Samoan Police Force at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III with Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa at Faleolo Airport today
King Charles III is pictured after arriving at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today for the royal tour
It is the couple’s first official visit to the central South Pacific nation, although the King is understood to have landed there briefly when serving in the Royal Navy as a young man.
The King, who is head of the Commonwealth, will preside for the first time over a gathering of Commonwealth presidents and prime ministers that Samoa is hosting.
He will formally open the event, which Sir Keir Starmer is also attending. Foreign Secretary David Lammy is also in Samoa and waited for the King at the airport.
Earlier, Charles and Camilla ended their six-day tour of Australia and posted a message on social media under their names soon after their RAAF plane took off.
They said: ‘As we head towards Apia, we can’t wait to visit Samoa for the first time together and to experience the warmth of ancient traditions with your remarkable people. Feiloa’i ma le manuia! – Charles R & Camilla R’
The tweet included a few words in Samoan loosely translated as ‘looking forward to meeting the Samoan people’.
Samoa’s PM Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and Foreign Secretary David Lammy wait at Faleolo Airport
A red carpet is laid as the plane carrying the King and Queen arrives at Faleolo Airport today
Members of the Samoan Police Force wait for the King’s arrival at Faleolo Airport today
Samoa’s Prime Minister Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa waits for the King at Faleolo Airport today
The plane carrying the King and Queen bears the Royal Standard and flag of Samoa today
Members of the Samoan Police Force wait for the King’s arrival at Faleolo Airport today
The plane carrying the King and Queen bears the Royal Standard and flag of Samoa today
Foreign Secretary David Lammy waits for the King and Queen’s arrival at Faleolo Airport today
Members of the Samoan Police Force wait for the King’s arrival at Faleolo Airport today
The plane carrying King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrives at Faleolo Airport today
Workers prepare for the arrival of the King and Queen at Faleolo Airport in Samoa today
The plane carrying King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrives at Faleolo Airport today
Members of the Samoan Police Force wait for the King’s arrival at Faleolo Airport today
Samoa’s Prime Minister Afioga Fiame Naomi Mataafa waits for the King at Faleolo Airport today
The plane carrying King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrives at Faleolo Airport today
A guard of honour is prepared ahead of the King and Queen’s arrival at Faleolo Airport today
A band plays before the arrival of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Faleolo Airport today
Final preparations are made ahead of the arrival of the King and Queen at Faleolo Airport today
Members of the Samoan Police Force wait for the King’s arrival at Faleolo Airport today
Final preparations are made ahead of the arrival of the King and Queen at Faleolo Airport today
Members of the Samoan Police Force wait for the King’s arrival at Faleolo Airport today
A guard of honour is prepared ahead of the King and Queen’s arrival at Faleolo Airport today
Final preparations are made ahead of the arrival of the King and Queen at Faleolo Airport today
Members of the Samoan Police Force wait for the King’s arrival at Faleolo Airport today
Final preparations are made ahead of the arrival of the King and Queen at Faleolo Airport today
A guard of honour is prepared ahead of the King and Queen’s arrival at Faleolo Airport today
A red carpet is prepared for the arrival of the King and Queen at Faleolo Airport today
Final preparations are made ahead of the arrival of the King and Queen at Faleolo Airport today
Samoa is hosting a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which has the theme ‘One Resilient Common Future’.
The King will formally open the CHOGM, having deputised for Queen Elizabeth II during the last such meeting which was staged by Rwanda in 2022.
It comes after Charles was accused of ‘genocide’ by an Australian Indigenous senator at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday during the monarch’s six-day visit to Australia which concluded yesterday.
The Australian royal tour was Charles’ inaugural visit to an overseas realm as sovereign, his first major foreign trip since being diagnosed with cancer , and his first visit by a British monarch to Australia in 13 years.
MailOnline understands officials at Buckingham Palace were delighted at the huge turnout in Australia and the warmth of the welcome – including 10,000 royal fans who turned out at the Sydney Opera House to see the royals.
A child in Apia today as Samoa hosts the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Locals walk along a road lined with flags in Apia as Samoa awaits the arrival of CHOGM leaders
A local walks past a welcome sign in Apia as Samoa prepares to host the CHOGM
Locals walk along a road lined with flags in Apia as Samoa awaits the arrival of CHOGM leaders
A trader displays her produce in a market in Apai today as Samoa prepares for the CHOGM
Men play draughts in Apia today ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
A trader displays her produce in a market in Apai today as Samoa prepares for the CHOGM
Men play pool in Apia today ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
People wait for a bus to leave at a market in Apia today ahead of Samoa hosting the CHOGM
A trader displays her produce in a market in Apai today as Samoa prepares for the CHOGM
A trader sells her produce on a bus in Apia today as Samoa prepares to host the CHOGM
A trader displays her produce in a market in Apai today as Samoa prepares for the CHOGM
People wait for a bus to leave at a market in Apia today ahead of Samoa hosting the CHOGM
A trader displays her produce in a market in Apai today as Samoa prepares for the CHOGM
Signage welcoming the Indian delegation for CHOGM is seen by a roadside in Apia today
A trader displays her produce in a market in Apai today as Samoa prepares for the CHOGM
People board their bus at a market in Apia today as Samoa prepares to host the CHOGM
Men play pool in Apia today ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
People wait for a bus to leave at a market in Apia today ahead of Samoa hosting the CHOGM
Charles is head of state in Australia, New Zealand and 12 other Commonwealth realms outside the UK, although the role is largely ceremonial.
Over half of the Commonwealth’s members are small states, many of them Pacific island nations facing the threat of rising sea levels.
The leaders at CHOGM are expected to make a declaration on protecting the ocean, with climate change a key topic for discussion.
Charles has spent a lifetime campaigning on environmental issues and in 2020 described climate change as the greatest threat that humanity has faced.
Britain has said it will not bring the issue of reparations for historical transatlantic slavery, demanded by Caribbean countries, to the table at CHOGM, but is open to engage with leaders who want to discuss it.