Climate, cancer and community on the cards for King Charles and Camilla’s visit

Climate change, cancer research and community are on the agenda for King Charles during his first royal tour of Australia as the monarch. The King and Queen Camilla will travel to Sydney and Canberra from October 18 to 23, Buckingham Palace and the Australian Government confirmed on Wednesday. The royal couple will arrive in the country on the evening of October 18 and spend time in Sydney on October 20 and 22, with a visit to Canberra in between. Their five-day stay in Australia will include a rest day after the King’s doctors advised him to keep to a short and tight schedule as he recovers from cancer treatment. And although King Charles won’t make it to WA, observers have noted his visit does coincide with the 2024 Telethon, with speculation he may send a message for the charity drive. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host the King and Queen at a reception in Parliament House along with political and community leaders and Australians who excel in the arts, health, culture and sports. He said everyone was looking forward to welcoming the couple back down under. “The royal visit is an opportunity to showcase the best of Australia — our rich culture, our sense of community, and contributions to science, research and global progress,” Mr Albanese said. “His Majesty first visited Australia in 1966 and has a strong personal affection for our nation. We are delighted that His Majesty is recovering well and has made visiting Australia once again a priority.” Charles and Camilla will also lay a wreath at the Australian War Memorial, paying tribute to Australian diggers as Queen Elizabeth II and his sons William and Harry have also previously done. The King will discuss the impacts of climate change with staff and volunteers at the Australian Botanic Gardens and also visit the CSIRO to see the work scientists are doing on bushfires. The Queen will take part in a roundtable discussion about family and domestic violence, and meet representatives from online charity platform GIVIT. She became the organisation’s patron in 2016. In Sydney, Australians will have a chance to meet the royal couple at a community barbecue celebrating the nation’s cultural diversity. The King and Queen will conduct a fleet review of the Royal Australian Navy on Sydney Harbour and also visit the Opera House. Australians of the Year Georgina Long and Richard Scolyer will discuss their groundbreaking cancer research with the King, and Indigenous representatives and groups will tell him about their work to support local communities and strengthen culture. The Queen will visit a Sydney library and meet children who entered the Commonwealth essay competition, writing about climate change, global co-operation and the challenges the world faces. This will be King Charles’ 16th official visit to Australia but his first as the sovereign since he took the throne in 2022. It’s the first royal visit by a reigning monarch since Queen Elizabeth II came to Australia in 2011 for a 10-day tour taking in Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. Plans for a more extensive tour had to be curtailed because of the King’s health — he was diagnosed with cancer earlier in the year and began receiving treatment in February. After travelling to Australia, the royals will head to Samoa to join the leaders of 56 countries for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.