Goulburn boy Ivan Pearce hands a packet of Tim Tams to King Charles during his Canberra visit. Photo: Claire Pearce.
The King will have an 11-year-old boy from Goulburn to remember when His Majesty’s 75th birthday rolls around on 14 November.
Ivan was among more than 3000 people to stand behind the barricades at the Australian War Memorial on Monday in the hope of catching a glimpse of King Charles and Queen Camilla during their flying royal visit to Canberra.
And he came prepared with the perfect Aussie gift – a packet of Arnott’s original Tim Tams.
“My brother ran into the servo and got the Tim Tams for me on the way there because I worked out the King’s birthday is six days before my 12th birthday,” Ivan says.
“I thought it would be nice if I got him a present.”
Ivan’s mum Claire took him and his siblings Jackson, 14, and Gabriel, 9, out of St Joseph’s Primary School in Goulburn for the special occasion. They arrived at the memorial with about two hours to spare and took up a place next to ‘Hephner’, the white alpaca – also from Goulburn – and now famous (infamous?) for spitting on the King.
“We thought the alpaca might get his attention and he’d be more likely to come over,” Ivan explains.
With the “King magnet” in place, the challenge was on to keep the Tim Tams shaded so the chocolate didn’t turn into a gooey mess inside the packet.
All the effort paid off. As King Charles walked by, Ivan won His Majesty’s attention by sticking the packet out towards him.
“He said, ‘Do you recommend them?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, they’re quite good.’ And then he took them and continued walking.”
Jackson, Gabriel and Ivan with mum Claire Pearce, awaiting Their Majesties’ arrival. Photo: Claire Pearce.
Ivan wasn’t the only one to come prepared with Tim Tams for Their Majesties. And Charles is no stranger to them either.
Charles has visited Australia on 14 previous occasions, including Canberra 10 times. During his latest as Prince of Wales in November 2012, he was greeting crowds alongside the Duchess of Cornwall (as Camilla was then) on Queen Elizabeth Terrace when a Canberra woman wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with an image of Queen Elizabeth II stretched out her arm to give Charles a packet of Tim Tams.
“Happy birthday for next week,” she said.
The Prince replied: “You’re very kind” and “What I’ve discovered is that you have to dunk them.”
The colourful monarchist, Alyson Richards, later told media: “I think he’s a real Aussie now!”
The King asks 11-year-old Ivan Pearce “Do you recommend them?” Photo: Claire Pearce.
Did this inspire Ivan? Not quite, but the thinking was the same.
“We were trying to work out what a good present would be that’s Australian but not too Australian, and we thought Tim Tams were good,” he says.
Ivan’s father Sam, who couldn’t attend the event, adds some more logical thinking to his son’s choice.
“The kings and queens and princes get given things all the time. It’s nice to not have just another thing to throw in the storeroom, but something they can enjoy as well.
“And to be honest, Tim Tams with a cup of tea are a big family thing for us. I think that’s common among a lot of Australians.”
Sam describes himself as “never a big royalist” but Claire “really enjoys following all the happenings of the royal family”.
Meanwhile, Ivan brought quite the story back to his school friends.
“They all thought it was cool,” he says.
“Maybe in the future, I’ll see if I can ask the King if he liked the Tim Tams.”
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