King to tour Australia and Samoa with ‘limited’ activities as he continues cancer treatment

The King is to tour Australia and Samoa with a “limited” programme as he continues his treatment for cancer.

Buckingham Palace has confirmed the King and Queen will undertake an autumn tour in October 2024, which will include visits to Australia and Samoa, where the couple will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2024.

Yet as with the King’s recent engagements, the trip’s programme will be “subject to doctors’ advice, and any necessary modifications on health grounds”.

The tour had originally been planned to include New Zealand, but the palace has now confirmed the country won’t be included.

Trip scaled back

The length of the trip has also been significantly scaled back from the original plans made before the King’s cancer diagnosis, when the couple were expected to be away for around three weeks.

Now, the King and Queen will be away for roughly 10 days in total, including travel time, The Telegraph understands.

A palace spokesman said: “The King and the Queen will visit Australia at the invitation of the Australian Government, where their programme will feature engagements in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales.

“Their Majesties’ state visit to Samoa will celebrate the strong bilateral relationship between the Pacific Island nation and the UK.”

When it was reported earlier this month that New Zealand had been cut from the trip, the prime minister said he had an “open invitation” to visit.

Buckingham Palace officials, including Clive Alderton, the King’s private secretary, were understood to be in Australia this month making final arrangements for the visit.

The King is said to be “disappointed” not to be visiting New Zealand but both sides are said to be aware of the need to pace himself amid his ongoing cancer treatment.

A palace spokesman said: “In close consultation with the Australian and New Zealand prime ministers, and with due regard for the pressures of time and logistics, it has therefore been agreed to limit the visit to Samoa and Australia only.

“Their Majesties send their warmest thanks and good wishes to all parties for their continued support and understanding.”

Cancer recovery

Addressing why the King and Queen are undertaking a “limited programme” in Australia, a palace spokesman said: “Their Majesties will visit the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Samoa.

“The King’s doctors have advised that a further extension to Their Majesties’ trip should be avoided at this time, to prioritise His Majesty’s continued recovery.

“As with all His Majesty’s recent engagements, his programme in both countries will be subject to doctors’ advice, and any necessary modifications on health grounds.”

The King was diagnosed with cancer in February and has been having weekly treatments. He was cleared by his medical team to return to public duties in late April after responding well to treatment.

His Majesty has made 15 visits to Australia, the most recent being in 2018 to open the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. His last visit to New Zealand was in 2019.

His late mother, Elizabeth II, visited Australia 16 times during her reign – becoming the first reigning monarch to set foot on Australian soil on her maiden trip to the country in 1954.

Anthony Albanese, the country’s Left-wing prime minister, had previously proposed to hold a republican referendum if he won a second term in 2025.

However, earlier this year the avowed republican’s government confirmed that the referendum was “not a priority at the moment” and that the focus instead was on the cost of living crisis.