As they prepared to fly home, the King and Queen were given gifts including a hand-woven mat, garlands, fly whisks, and a traditional war club.
The King was awarded the chiefly title of “To’aiga-O-Tumua” by the village’s high chief, at the end of their third ‘ava’ ceremony in which he sipped from a sacred drink prepared from the roots of the kava plant.
The chief told King Charles that his late mother and “your Papa Prince Philip” had been to Samoa before, adding that this “royal visit has lifted our house”.
At the end of the ceremony, the King was handed a microphone and asked to deliver an unscripted “keynote speech”, during which he thanked Samoa for such a warm welcome, and spoke of his illness.
“We’ve been so impressed by the beautiful way in which all the villages have decorated the roadsides, it is something very special about Samoa,” he said.
He thanked residents for their “wonderful generosity” bringing gifts of food and “other wonderful things”, and said the royal couple would take away “special memories of our time here”.
“I shall always remain devoted to this part of the world and hope that I survive long enough to come back again and see you,” he added.
In their final moments in Samoa, the King and Queen waved from the steps of a Royal Australian Air Force jet.
They left in heavy rain, matching the conditions when they landed in Sydney 10 days ago.
