King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to embark on a royal tour of Australia and Samoa this fall, in preparation for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
(CHOGM). Buckingham Palace announced on Sunday evening that the King and Queen will travel to Oceania in October for this significant tour. Following advice from King Charles's medical team, they will not visit New Zealand.
A palace spokesperson stated that the decision to limit the tour's scope is due to King Charles’s ongoing recovery from cancer treatment. The Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand were consulted, and the decision was made with consideration for timing and logistics.
King Charles and Queen Camilla expressed their “warmest wishes and good thanks” to the people of Australia and New Zealand for their support and understanding.
In Australia, their engagements will be concentrated in the Australian Capital Territory (Canberra) and New South Wales. The tour will not include an extended programme in Australia, following medical advice.
This year's CHOGM, held from October 21-25, will focus on the theme “One Resilient Future: Transforming Our Common Wealth.” Delegations from the 56 Commonwealth nations will attend the week-long event.
In Samoa, besides participating in CHOGM activities, King Charles and Queen Camilla will focus on strengthening the bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Samoa.
This CHOGM will be the first presided over by King Charles. The previous meeting, held in June 2022, saw him officially elected as Head of the Commonwealth, succeeding Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away three months later.
King Charles and Queen Camilla last visited Australia in 2018; this upcoming tour will mark their first visit to Samoa.
Buckingham Palace will provide further details on the King and Queen’s itinerary later this year. Photo by Patricia Martín Nieto, Wikimedia commons.
