Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets King Charles at Balmoral Castle | USAEMALL.com

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has met King Charles at Balmoral Castle after flying to Scotland for a private audience at the highlands estate.

Mr Albanese flew from London on Saturday morning with his fiancée, Jodie Haydon, for a meeting that had been arranged well in advance but kept largely under wraps until now.

The King welcomed Ms Haydon before shaking hands with the prime minister and giving him a warm smile.

Mr Albanese did not make any public comments following the meeting other than confirming it had taken place by sharing a photo on social media with a short message. “An honour to meet with you today, Your Majesty,” he wrote.

Mr Albanese had the meeting on his mind in recent days and mentioned it to leaders in London on Friday to underscore the significance of the trip.

“It will be quite a privilege to go up to Balmoral tomorrow, I’m looking forward to it,” he told Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch when they met at Stoke Lodge, the official residence of Australian High Commissioner Stephen Smith.

The formal audience with the head of state marked a break from days dominated by political and policy discussions during the Prime Minister’s overseas tour, which included visits to the United Nations in New York and meetings with leaders in London.

Some of those engagements are now subject to political criticism, after Opposition Leader Sussan Ley accused Mr Albanese of “swanning around” attending indulgent events like a summit of progressive political parties and their leaders in London on Friday.

Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon arrived on Saturday morning local time at the Royal Air Force base in Lossiemouth, where they were met with a traditional Scottish bagpipe welcome as they stepped onto the tarmac.

Strong winds across Scotland forced the Prime Minister’s Royal Australian Air Force jet to abort its initial landing approach, but it successfully touched down on the second attempt.

After greeting defence staff, they travelled through the countryside to Balmoral for the meeting with King Charles in the early afternoon.

Following their visit to Balmoral Castle, Mr Albanese and Ms Haydon went to the nearby Crathie Kirk church, where they met Reverend Kenneth Mackenzie and signed the guest book.

Crathie Kirk, a Church of Scotland church, is frequented by the royal family when staying at Balmoral.

King Charles has spent this week at Balmoral, the royal family’s retreat and a favourite residence of Queen Elizabeth, following a demanding schedule of diplomatic meetings including hosting US President Donald Trump last week during his state visit. The King continues to receive cancer treatment.

He hosted Mr Trump and Melania Trump at a royal banquet and arranged for them to be overnight guests at Windsor Castle.

In his address at the banquet, the King reminded Mr Trump of the importance of the AUKUS defence pact between the US, UK, and Australia, with the Pentagon is currently reviewing the agreement.

“Our AUKUS submarine partnership, with Australia, sets the benchmark for innovative and vital collaboration,” King Charles said.

Mr Albanese first met the King as Prime Minister during the London visit for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022 and again in May 2023 at the King’s coronation.

He also hosted the King and Queen in the Great Hall of Parliament House last October.