Australia Palace announces details of royal trip to the Pacific

British King Charles III (75) and his wife Queen Camilla (77) are traveling to Australia and Samoa this October. The palace has now announced the exact dates and details of the official tour. Accordingly, the royal couple's trip will last from October 18 to 26.

This will be a first for Charles in several respects: his visit to Australia will be his first as King in a country outside the United Kingdom, of which he is Head of State. The meeting of Commonwealth heads of government on October 21 in the Pacific island state of Samoa will also be the first that Charles has attended as head of the Commonwealth.

King is said to be in good health

A meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is scheduled in the Australian capital Canberra. The royal couple will watch a naval parade in Sydney Harbour. The environmentally conscious King will also meet firefighters to learn about the fight against the annual bushfires.

Meetings are also planned with researchers working on skin cancer. Charles himself made a cancer diagnosis public in February and initially largely withdrew from the public eye. British media recently reported, citing palace insiders, that the King was in very good health.

SDA