King Charles III and Queen Camilla touch down in Australia tomorrow, commencing the first royal visit to the country since 2011.
The tour will mark the King’s first official visit to a Commonwealth nation since he assumed the throne, and just the second to Australia by a reigning monarch after his mother Queen Elizabeth II became the first in 1954.
It may be his first visit as King, but it will actually be Charles’ 17th time in Australia, who has visited our shores more times than his late mother did, who only managed 16 trips.
The King and Queen’s last visit to Australia was in 2018, where he attended the opening of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
The King has been given permission from doctors to pause his highly publicised cancer treatment for the five-day trip and he will spend this weekend resting from the long-haul flight to Sydney and adjusting to the climate and time zone.
Buckingham Palace sources say King Charles will travel with two doctors, a supply of his own blood and will be “monitored closely during the visit.”
The King has been receiving treatment since his diagnosis with an undisclosed form of cancer back in February.
Charles has been receiving cancer care regularly since his diagnosis, even returning to London once a week from Scotland during the summer break for treatment. The type of cancer, discovered during his treatment for an enlarged prostate at the beginning of the year, has not been revealed.
Monday 21 October
On Monday, Their Majesties will head to Canberra where the public will get their first chance to see Their Majesties on Monday 21 October as they make their way to the For Our Country memorial at the Australian War Memorial western grounds and Sculpture Garden.
They will then move to Parliament House for a Ceremonial Welcome at 1:00pm, then the public will get another chance to see the King and Queen on the Parliament House forecourt at 2:10pm
Tuesday 22 October
On Tuesday, the royal couple head back to Sydney, where they will meet the public on the opera House forecourt at 4:20 before they head to Man O’War Steps wharf where they will board the Admiral Hudson vessel.
The King and Queen will then conduct a review of His Majesty’s Australian Ships Arunta, Gascoyne, Hobart, Warramunga and Yarra, which are all anchored in Sydney Harbour for the visit.
The Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australia Air Force and Australian Army will conduct a fly-past during the review.
Their Majesties will then depart Australia on Wednesday 23 October.
Will you be making the trip to see the King and Queen? Have you attended any previous royal visits? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: What happens if King Charles can no longer perform his duties?
