The King joked about the passing "sands of time" after presenting an hourglass he dubbed a "speech timer" to an Australian assembly. Charles could not resist setting the sand in motion after gifting the time piece to the parliament of New South Wales,

King Charles has marked the bicentenary of the NSW Legislative Council with a speech, saying he was “delighted” and “proud” to return to the state parliament.

The King, who attended commemorations marking the 150th anniversary of the Legislative Council in 1974, said in a speech to guests: “Democratic systems must evolve, of course, to remain fit for purpose, but they are, nevertheless, essentially sound systems, as I said in this building 50 years ago.