Planning for possible King Charles visit to Australia begins

King Charles III could make his first formal visit to Australia as sovereign later this year, with discussions under way between federal, state and territory governments about the possible trip.

This masthead revealed last December that a visit to Australia by the King, who would be joined by Queen Camilla, was on the cards for October and would be timed to coincide with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa.

King Charles III with Queen Camilla in January in London.Credit: Getty

Since then, 75-year-old Charles has been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer and has been treated as an outpatient. He was pictured back at work for the first time two weeks ago in a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

In a statement, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, an avowed republican, said the government had begun preparing for a possible visit by the King to Australia later this year.

“The King has shown his compassion for Australians affected by recent natural disasters, just as Australians have shown compassion and support for the King following his cancer diagnosis,” he said.

“The King, Queen and members of the royal family are always welcome in Australia. My government is engaging with states and territories on options for a possible royal visit.”

The King, pictured meeting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on February 21.Credit: Getty Images

If Charles does visit Australia, it would be the first visit to Australia by a reigning monarch since Queen Elizabeth II’s 2011 visit, which took her to Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

The King has made 15 official visits to Australia and visited every state and territory. His most recent visit in 2018 was to open the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and he also attended school at Geelong Grammar’s Timbertop campus in 1966.

All states and territories are expected to make requests for Charles and Camilla to visit them, but he will only be able to attend a limited number of engagements.

The CHOGM meeting in Samoa will be attended by the leaders of 56 nations, including Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and Malaysia, and is due to start on October 21.

It’s not clear if Charles and Camilla would visit Australia before or after the international conference.

The parliamentary sitting calendar for 2024 has a week-long break either side of the CHOGM meeting, which would provide an ideal window for the visit.

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