King Charles to visit Australia and Samoa on first overseas tour since cancer diagnosis

Britain’s King Charles is preparing to visit Australia and Samoa in October, an itinerary that will span 12 time zones and test the monarch’s stamina as he recovers from cancer treatment.

While he will undoubtedly be welcomed by fans waving the flag and singing God Save the King, Charles is also likely to hear antimonarchy voices in a country where 45 per cent of voters in a 1999 referendum supported creating an Australian republic.

“It’s clear that there’s a real re-evaluation going on there as to whether the Commonwealth, and certainly the realms, want to retain their connection to the British monarchy or not,” Ed Owens, a historian and author of After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself? told Associated Press in an interview before the trip was announced. “So, you know, there are troubled waters ahead.”

The palace provided few details of the tour. Charles and Queen Camilla will visit the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales as well as making a more formal state visit to Samoa, where the king will appear at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the palace said.

The capital territory is home to Canberra, Australia’s national capital. Sydney, Australia’s largest city, is in New South Wales.

Charles holds the symbolic title of head of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 independent nations, most of which have historic ties to Britain. The annual heads of government meeting will be held October 21-25.

“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,” the palace said in a statement.

With fewer working royals available to carry out the endless round of ribbon cuttings, awards