Bushfires tour: Royals Prince William and Kate Middleton to visit Australia post-fires
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are coming to Australia to tour fire-ravaged communities.
Prince William and his wife, Catherine, are set to tour parts of Australia devastated by the recent bushfire crisis.
Scott Morrison will later this week formally write to Kensington Palace with proposed dates and locations for the trip.
No dates and locations have been set in stone and it is not clear whether the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s young children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — will also visit Australia.
Last month, the royal couple sent Australians a message of sympathy focused on those who had lost their lives and the firefighters who spent months defending people and properties.
“We continue to be shocked and deeply saddened to hear about the fires that are destroying homes, livelihoods and wildlife across much of Australia,” the statement said. “We send our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who have tragically lost their lives, and the brave firefighters who continue to risk their own lives to save the lives of others.”
It would be the fifth official trip to Australia for William, the second in line to the throne, and comes after an intense period of natural disaster. The Duke of Cambridge has been to Australia before to convey the royal family’s sympathies in such circumstances, having visited parts of Queensland following the 2011 floods.
William has also joined other royal family members in recent months and become more outspoken about climate change and environmental policy.
“The Earth is at a tipping point and we face a stark choice: either we continue as we are and irreparably damage our planet,” he said in December, “or we remember our unique power as human beings and our continual ability to lead, innovate and problem-solve.”
The royal couple’s last visit, in 2014, accompanied by George, cost Australian taxpayers less than $500,000. The bill for that visit was far lower than the $1.74m bill for the Queen’s last Australian tour in 2011.
William first visited here as a nine-month-old, in 1983, with his parents, Prince Charles and Diana, the Princess of Wales.
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