United Kingdom: King Charles III and Queen Camilla have planned their visit to Australia and Samoa in October, as the King takes on more public duties while receiving treatment for cancer.
The couple will carry out engagements in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales before heading to Samoa for a Commonwealth summit. Despite his diagnosis of an undisclosed form of cancer earlier this year, the King will make the lengthy journey to Australia. However, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the couple will not visit New Zealand, following doctors’ advice against an extended visit.
“In close consultation with the Australian and New Zealand prime ministers, and with due regard for the pressures of time and logistics, it has therefore been agreed to limit the visit to Samoa and Australia only,” the Palace stated.
This will be the King’s first visit to Australia as monarch and his first official overseas tour since his cancer diagnosis. In Samoa, they will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). Their Australian programme includes visits to the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales.
Further details of the visit are expected to be announced shortly, with the couple’s schedule subject to doctors’ advice. The 75-year-old monarch last visited Australia in 2018 with Queen Camilla for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
In February, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the King would pause some public events while receiving cancer treatment. The King returned to public engagements in April, speaking to patients at University College London Hospital about the “shock” of his diagnosis.
POPULAR | ‘Forever chemicals’ can penetrate human skin: Study
