King Charles and Queen Camilla have jetted off from Sydney Airport, marking the end of their whirlwind two-city Australian tour.

They were farewelled by a small crowd of fans, as well as NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Governor-General Sam Mostyn and NSW Governor Margaret Beazley.

The pair waved farewell from the steps of a Royal Australian Air Force jet before the plane taxied down the runway and departed about midday on Wednesday.

King Charles sported a grey suit, while Camilla wore a printed Fiona Clare dress.

They are en route to Samoa after spending four days in Sydney and a day in Canberra.

The royals had a packed itinerary during the trip, including a visit to Parliament House and the War Memorial in Canberra.

A reception for the couple in the capital was overshadowed by a run-in with renegade Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe, who told the monarch “you are not my king” before being led away.

In Sydney, the duo were logistically pushed to the brink on Tuesday, tackling visits to the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, a food bank, a social housing project, a literacy initiative, a community barbecue, a meeting with two leading cancer researchers and a naval review.

Their itinerary in the NSW capital included a visit to the Sydney Opera House, where thousands of people queued for almost a kilometre to get a glimpse of the royals during the biggest public event of their trip.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the visit, King Charles’ first to Australia since ascending the throne, was historic for the nation.

“Their Majesties met a range of extraordinary Australians who demonstrated the best of our great country,” he said, adding he looked forward to meeting the King again in Samoa at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The biennial meeting brings together 56 countries under the head of the Commonwealth, now King Charles following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth.

The gathering is expected to discuss climate change, the impact of colonialism and reparations.

On Tuesday, chants of “you’re on stolen land” and “no pride in genocide” from bystanders greeted King Charles when he met with elders at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence in inner-Sydney Redfern.

The protest by a small group of people outside the centre came after Senator Thorpe’s controversial outburst on Tuesday, which sparked international headlines and prompted coalition calls for her to resign.

But on Wednesday, a federal government minister said it was time to move on.

“I think what she did was totally inappropriate,” Housing Minister Clare O’Neil told Seven’s Sunrise program.

“My suggestion now is we move on. No one can make her resign.”

Federal Nationals MP Matt Canavan doubled down, saying he believed ost” Australians wanted her to quit.

“That’s the feedback I get talking to people … they’re aghast that someone in their nation’s parliament would act like this and effectively embarrass the whole nation,” he told Nine’s Today program.

This post was originally published on Michael West.