The King is set to scrap plans to visit New Zealand and Fiji in October, amid concerns from doctors that he needs to ‘pace himself’.
Prior to his cancer diagnosis, King Charles had been expected to visit Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in October.
However, reports yesterday suggested that a visit to New Zealand is likely to be shelved on advice from the King’s medical team.
The Mail on Sunday can also reveal that courtiers are no longer hoping to extend the tour to neighbouring Fiji, which is also a member of the Commonwealth, for similar reasons.
A source said: ‘Officials first decided to drop Fiji and then New Zealand, because a trip like that is quite strenuous.
The King is set to scrap plans to visit New Zealand and Fiji in October, amid concerns from doctors that he needs to ‘pace himself’
What A Day! On Ascot’s final day yesterday, the only appearance perhaps more impressive than the King’s was that of Happy Days star Henry Winkler, aka The Fonz, who presented the prize for the Jersey Stakes
‘The tour will probably last around ten days, covering Australia and Samoa.
‘Republicanism by stealth’ portrait row
Australians are accusing its government of ‘republicanism by stealth’ for failing to share a free portrait of King Charles.
Pictures and paintings of the late Queen Elizabeth adorned government and civic buildings, private clubs and societies in Australia for decades.
But the country is still without an official portrait of their head of state more than year after his Coronation.
The Australian Monarchist League (AML) is helping out by distributing thousands of licensed copies of the portrait by Jonathan Yeo, depicting the King against a blood-red backdrop.
Philip Benwell, chairman of AML, says: ‘We strongly believe that the government’s failure to make an official portrait available is republicanism by stealth to promote their anti-monarchist agenda.’
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously campaigned on a promise to put the future of the monarchy to a referendum.
But the King’s representative in Australia has said the government is merely waiting for Buckingham Palace to issue an official portrait.
The Palace declined to comment.
‘Palace officials will not be drawn on the topic, except for insisting that any plans would be announced officially by Buckingham Palace.
But courtiers do concede that planning for what they are calling ‘the Autumn tour’ continues subject to medical advice and any ‘necessary modifications’.
In March, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that King Charles and Queen Camilla would be visiting the country in October as part of a long-haul tour, depending on the King’s health and cancer treatment.
When the King returned to public duties in late April, sources hinted that he was ‘hopeful’ the visit to Australia would go ahead.
On Friday, sources told The Mirror that the scaled-back plans to skip New Zealand would be ‘a bitter disappointment on both sides’, with the King, 75, keen to ‘make up for lost time’.
New Zealand’s opposition MP Adrian Rurawhe told the MoS: ‘I was in Samoa recently and the organisation for the visit is quite advanced.
‘There is a lot of excitement in the country and a huge operation in preparation. Nothing has been announced so far over here, but if the royal visit is cancelled, New Zealanders will be typically reasonable about it.’
Since his return to public duties, King Charles’s busy summer schedule has raised some eyebrows in royal circles – with some fearing that his zeal for work is causing tension with his doctors.
The court circular suggests that the King has taken only three days off over the past two weeks, cramming in audiences, receptions and key events such as Royal Ascot – where he missed only one day.
On Ascot’s final day yesterday, the only appearance perhaps more impressive than the King’s was that of Happy Days star Henry Winkler, aka The Fonz, who presented the prize for the Jersey Stakes.
Happy Henry: The actor seemed in good spirits at Royal Ascot on the final day of the event
Palace sources say the King’s diary is adapted on medical advice, but the full schedule echoes the words of friends who told the Sunday Times in May that Charles was a ‘bloody caged lion’.
