Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis could join their parents on an upcoming tour of Commonwealth countries including New Zealand. Photo / AP
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis could join their parents on an upcoming tour of Commonwealth countries including New Zealand. Photo / AP
King Charles, Queen Camilla, and their children and grandchildren are preparing to embark on a royal tour, likely including a stop in New Zealand.
Plans for two years of royal visits are reportedly underway in an effort for the new King to help strengthen ties with several Commonwealth countries in a show of “soft diplomacy”, reports the Daily Mail.
The new King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales and even the youngest royals - Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis - could be touching down in Aotearoa as part of a stop down under.
King Charles meets Prime Minister Chris Hipkins ahead of his coronation in May 2023. Photo / AP
A palace source told the Daily Mail yesterday that “state visits are back in business”, despite suggestions that the British government’s Foreign Office and Royal Visits Committee have been slow to approve overseas tours.
Late last year following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s office confirmed there was a “standing invitation” in place for the royals, with a visit expected to take place early in 2023.
That timeline may have changed, but there are still several months left of 2023 that could see current Prime Minister Chris Hipkins welcome the royals to New Zealand.
The tour would mark Charles’ first state visits to Commonwealth realms since becoming King, apart from a stop in Germany in March.
Charles is reportedly planning to reschedule a visit to France with Camilla, after his initial plans were postponed due to riots in the country in March. It’s also been confirmed that the King will visit Samoa next year for a meeting with Commonwealth heads of government.
The King and Queen are also planning to travel to Kenya later in the year, while William and Kate are expected to visit Singapore and the Prince of Wales has a solo trip to New York planned for September.
Historian Ian Lloyd told the Daily Mail, “A visit by Charles to Canada and one by the Waleses to Australia and New Zealand would capitalise on the global interest in the Coronation.
“They need to do this soon before that interest wanes – and taking the Waleses’ children would prove to be a PR triumph too.”
The Commonwealth has changed since Queen Elizabeth’s time - where there were once 31 Commonwealth “realms”, today there are 14, and more could be disestablished as several nations call the system into question.
Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda could all break away from the Commonwealth, and last week it was announced that the state of Victoria in Australia would no longer host the 2026 Commonwealth Games as they “do not represent value for money”.
Princess Anne unveils a plaque to the Citizens' War Memorial in Christchurch. Photo / Christchurch City Council
The Princess Royal had to change her itinerary at the last minute as the country reeled from the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle. She had initially planned to visit Linton, near Palmerston North, to attend the 100th anniversary celebrations of the NZ Army’s Royal New Zealand Corps of Signals, of which she is Colonel in Chief.
William visited on his own in April 2019, marking Anzac Day at the Auckland War Memorial before heading to Christchurch in a visit focused on the royal family support in the aftermath of the March 15 mosque shootings.
