Buckingham Palace has released more details about King Charles and Queen Camilla‘s visit to Australia and Samoa in October.
After a Palace spokesperson officially confirmed the royal tour on July 14 after months of speculation, monarchists from across the country have been eagerly anticipating information as to where they may spot the couple on their tour down under.
While there were high hopes initially that the royals would spend a considerable time in Australia and visit several states and territories, their autumn tour will only include stops in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Upon medical advice, the trip was scaled back significantly from what was first proposed, including cutting out a visit to New Zealand to “prioritise His Majesty’s continued recovery.”
“As with all His Majesty’s recent engagements, his programme in both countries will be subject to doctors’ advice, and any necessary modifications on health grounds,” a Buckingham Palace official has previously stated.
In early October it was reported that the 75-year-old would temporarily “pause” his cancer treatment in order to visit Australia, and will resume it as soon as he returns to the UK.
A week later it was confirmed that he would travel with a supply of his blood and two of his own doctors, as well as be supported by an expert medical team during the tour.
When are King Charles and Queen Camilla visiting Australia?
King Charles and Queen Camilla are visiting Australia by invitation of the Federal Government between October 18 and October 23, 2024.
They will then fly to Samoa to attend the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which concludes on October 25.
Held bi-yearly, the CHOGM brings together 56 developed and developing nations from across the Commonwealth.
Where are King Charles and Queen Camilla visiting in Australia?
In Sydney
While not every event on their itinerary has been publically confirmed, the Federal Government has shed light on several of the engagements the King and Queen will partake in on Sunday, October 20th and Tuesday, October 22nd in Sydney.
King Charles will meet with Australians of the Year Professor Georgina Long AO and Professor Scolyer AO to learn about their ground-breaking research into cancer, a cause very close to the monarch.
Simultaneously, the Queen will visit a library and meet with children who are participating in a Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition workshop.
Together they will also conduct a Fleet Review of the Royal Australian Navy in Sydney Harbour and attend a community BBQ that is being held to celebrate both the great produce of New South Wales and Australia’s cultural diversity.
It is also expected that the royal couple will attend an event to celebrate the bicentenary of the NSW Legislative Council and several other yet-to-be-announced engagements.
In Canberra
On Monday, October 21st during their day-long visit to the Australian Capital Territory, the royal couple will be formally welcomed to Parliament House by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and then attend a formal reception alongside political and community leaders.
Australians who have excelled in the fields of health, arts, culture or sport will also receive an invitation to mingle with the royal couple at the event.
Following this, the royals will pay their respects to the Fallen at the Australian War Memorial before spending some time at the Australian National Botanic Gardens where they will discuss the wide-reaching impact of climate change with staff and volunteers.
To end their visit in Canberra, Charles will head to the CSIRO headquarters where he will meet with firefighters to learn about bushfire prevention. At the same time, his wife will participate in a round table discussion on family and domestic violence with members of not-for-profit GIVIT.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was “honoured” to welcome Their Majesties on their first joint visit to Australia since their historic May 2023 coronation.
“The King has a deep regard for our great nation and has always spoken warmly of the time he has spent here and the astounding beauty of our extraordinary continent,” the PM in an official statement when the royal tour was first confirmed.
“I look forward to welcoming The King and Queen back to Australia for this important visit.”
News of a royal tour down under first became public knowledge in early December 2023 when a government insider said that planning was “underway.”
Then in January 2024, a government spokesman told The Australian that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “enjoyed a warm relationship with the King” and was looking forward “to welcoming His Majesty later this year.”
The new monarch appears to favour Australia after visiting 16 times since 1966. But it will be King Charles’ first visit since 2018 for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
His royal visit will mark an important occasion as it will be the first time a reigning King has visited Australia following Queen Elizabeth’s passing.
A reigning monarch has not visited our shores since Queen Elizabeth’s trip in October 2011 which was dubbed as her ‘farewell tour’ by royal watchers. The late Queen opened the new Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, right next to the former Royal Children’s Hospital she opened in 1963.
Queen Elizabeth II made Australian history in 1954 after becoming the first reigning monarch to visit, and she continued to visit another 16 times.
The news of King Charles’ visit follows speculation that Prince William and Kate Middleton could be returning to Australia after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed he hoped to host the couple and their children at some point in the not-so-distant future.
Prince William reportedly wants to take his family to some of his grandmother’s favourite places.
“It’s been a year of upheaval for the children, and the family is looking to make some happy memories and take them on a big adventure,” says a palace insider.
“William and Kate loved their first tour to Australia in 2014, which was where baby Prince George undertook his first public engagements,” they added.
