King Charles: ‘Walkabouts’ dropped from Australian tour; monarch’s ‘healing’ hug from NZ rugby players

King Charles has dropped the term “walkabout” from his upcoming Aussie tour as he makes a candid health revelation while receiving a surprise hug. Watch the video.

King Charles has cancelled the “walkabout” from his Australian tour to avoid offending Indigenous communities.

Coined by Queen Elizabeth II during her tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1970, the “walkabout” was the late monarch’s key innovation in modernising the royal family by meeting and greeting the public in person.

Instead, the official itinerary of King Charles and Queen Camilla will replace the “royal walkabout” with an “opportunity to meet the public”.

King Charles III meets New Zealand's Black Ferns rugby union team at Buckingham Palace. Picture: Getty Images

It came as the King provided a rare health update during a meeting with New Zealand’s women’s rugby union team at Buckingham Palace, explaining why he had to drop the country from his upcoming tour itinerary of Oceania.

 King Charles told the Black Ferns that due to “doctor’s orders” he would not  be able to travel to their country in his upcoming tour.

The monarch gets a “healing hug” while meeting New Zealand's Black Ferns rugby union team. Picture: Getty Images

 “I am extremely sorry I can’t come to New Zealand in late October because of doctor’s orders. But I hope there will be another excuse before too long.

“But in the meantime, give my love to New Zealand, please, and New Zealanders, we get lots of nice Kiwis coming here in this part of the world as well, so we are very lucky indeed.”

King Charles went on to tell the young athletes about making the most of every day.

“And I hope you make the most of your time in the team because you don’t stay young for very long, as I discovered, it all goes quicker than you think,” he said as he smiled.

To the delight of the King, he was engulfed in a “healing” hug from the rugby players after winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga made the cheeky request.

“Hug, why not,” the King replied before  the players embraced him.

The King said: “I much appreciated this chance to meet you and have such a warm hug from most of you,” adding it was “very healing”.

WHY PALACE HAS DROPPED ‘WALKABOUT’ TERM

While the “royal walkabout” has remained in colloquial use in the United Kingdom after the Queen’s death, Buckingham Palace has dropped the nomenclature for the October tour out of respect for the Aboriginal culture.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla have dropped the “royal walkabout” in favour of an “opportunity to meet the public”. Picture: Getty Images

The Indigenous term, meaning a time of travel to signify change, grief or coming of age, was used as shorthand for a member of the Royal Family to meet and greet wellwishers.

The Royal Family rarely directly interacted, much less shook the hands, of the public until Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip instituted the practices as part of their modernisation efforts in the 1970s.

Despite the word being “cancelled”, King Charles and Queen Camilla will still maintain spirit behind Queen Elizabeth’s walkabouts by meeting hundreds of people during their visit to Australia and Samoa from October 18 to October 26.

During their visit to Sydney, the King and Queen will tour Royal Australian Navy ships and join a barbecue with multicultural groups, discussing the work Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders are doing to strengthen culture and support their communities.

The Queen will meet children participating in a Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition workshop and visit a library.

In Canberra, they will be welcomed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House, and pay their respects at the Australian War Memorial. The King will discuss climate change during a visit to the National Botanic Gardens, and meet scientists at the CSIRO.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the tour was scaled back due to the King’s cancer treatment.

“We’ve had to, as you would with any visit, think about how you can ensure Their Majesties’ energies are preserved to be at their best,” the spokesman said.

“We’ve had to make some difficult decisions about the program with the Australian government, about where Their Majesties can get to.”

Originally published as King Charles: ‘Walkabouts’ dropped from Australian tour; monarch’s ‘healing’ hug from NZ rugby players