The arrival in the capital of Australia's future king Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, sparked only small crowds but substantial traffic chaos as Remembrance Day, royal traffic protocols and steady drizzle combined to create a perfect storm for drivers on Canberra's roads on Wednesday.
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The heavens opened from the moment the royal couple alighted from their plane shortly before 10.30am, when they were greeted by an enthusiastic Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, who stood at the bottom of the stairs with his arms wide open in greeting.
While the Governor-General waved away an offer of an umbrella, both Charles and Camilla sheltered under theirs – a position they would hold for most of their events throughout the day as it appeared the British weather had accompanied them to the colonies.
An estimated nine millimetres of rain fell on Canberra during the whirlwind eight-hour visit, according to the Bureau of Meteorology – the rain a "blessing" for Australia, Prince Charles was heard to say on arrival at the War Memorial for the official Remembrance Day ceremony.
Camilla appeared less enthused by the precipitation and 16 degree temperatures, preferring to duck into her motorcade car at the conclusion of proceedings while Prince Charles took the time to speak personally to some of the 150 Canberrans who risked a soaking to get close to royalty.
"You just have to be as nutty as a fruitcake to come out on a day like this," spectator Ian Noble said.
Luckily, flags handed out by the Australian Monarchist League were plastic.
From the War Memorial it was off to Majura Park's French Black Truffles of Canberra for a chance to sample some of the prized tuber melanosporums.
In a delicately prepared PR exercise, Samson the black labrador was sent to retrieve a pre-buried (rather annoyingly, it's not truffle season) fist-sized specimen from under a tree.
It may not have been as fresh as it appeared, but happily the decoy truffle met the taste test of both the royal couple and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his wife, Lucy.
Following expert preparation by Sage head chef Damien Brabender, who shaved it into scrambled eggs and churned truffle ice-cream, Mrs Turnbull could be heard extolling the virtues of the prized ingredient with which she and Mr Turnbull are apparently "infatuated". Such a specimen would retailed for around $900.
Meanwhile, royal aides were given a warning glare when they attempted to move the duchess on before she had finished her ice-cream. She was having all of it.
A blessedly undercover event was next on the agenda when Prince Charles announced new scholarships at the National Museum.
The scholarships between Australia and Britain are designed to promote cultural work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and will begin next year through a partnership between the museum and The Prince's Charities.
Prince Charles also used a visit to the museum to tour a new exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander objects from the British Museum, set to open to the public at the end of the month.
By the time the royal couple drove to their next engagement at the Arboretum the rain was fairly pelting down, again reducing spectator numbers to the most committed and weatherproof.
But it cleared the moment the royal couple were called upon by Chief Minister Andrew Barr to plant two pin oak trees on the Arboretum's newly developed events terrace.
They later headed to Government House for a meeting with Mr Turnbull, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, and the mandatory kangaroo spotting on the sodden grounds of Yarralumla.
From the sanctuary of a dry golf buggy Camilla was able to take her fill of roo sightings as they dutifully appeared on the greener-than-green grounds.
