Dozens of dignitaries and school children came out to watch Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall plant trees at the National Arboretum on Wednesday.
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The Royal couple dodged the heaviest of the afternoon downpour for a short ceremony hosted by ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, before planting two Pin Oak trees on the Arboretum's newly developed events terrace.
The visit included a short tour of the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection and the Canberra Discovery Garden, before meeting well wishers and signing the official visitors book. They later headed to Government House for a meeting with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
While some fans were thrilled to catch a glimpse of the royal couple, others had even conversed with them before.
Yass glass maker Peter Crisp said he was commissioned to manufacture some tableware for the Prince and Duchess in 2006 and made a home delivery "straight into their private drawing room".
"It was a great privilege," Mr Crisp said.
"They were very relaxed, and we had very happy conversations about his time in Australia... he has a very strong fondness of Australia."
Mr Crisp's friend, Peter Walker, was able to fulfil a wish he'd had for many years. In 1972, he played Polo with Prince Philip in Canberra and later spent an evening with the Prince and Queen Elizabeth II.
On Wednesday at the Arboretum, he got the chance to show Prince Charles the photo and explain that he played opposite his father in the match.
"Well it's a wonder you survived," Prince Charles supposedly replied.
As co-director of sheep breeders Woolaroo Merino Stud in Yass, Mr Walker wore a woollen tie for the special moment.
"It's also an honour [to meet him], because he has been a strong promoter of Australian wool," Mr Walker said.
Prior to the Arboretum visit, Prince Charles announced new scholarships in Australia and the United Kingdom designed to promote cultural work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The program will begin in 2016 as part of a new partnership between the National Museum of Australia and The Prince's Charities.
He toured 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.
