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King Charles and Queen Camilla's Australian itinerary revealed

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Royal Visits to Australia

His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla will visit Australia from 18 to 23 October.

Find out more about the 2024 Royal Visit .

Royal Visit programs

In partnership with the National Library, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has shared digital copies of its collection of official Royal Visit programs.

Royal Visit programs on Trove

Latest news

The King and Queen to visit Canberra and Sydney in October

Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla to visit Australia in October 2024

Previous royal visits, summaries of royal visits.

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 3 February – 1 April 1954

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 18 February - 27 March 1963

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 30 March – 3 May 1970

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 17–22 October 1973

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 27–28 February 1974

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 7–30 March 1977

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 24–28 May 1980

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 26 September – 12 October 1981

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 5–13 October 1982

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 2–13 March 1986

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and Separate Program by His Royal Highness The Prince Edward: 19 April – 10 May 1988

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 18–25 February 1992

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 17 March – 1 April 2000

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 27 February – 3 March 2002

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 12–16 March 2006

Royal Visit to Australia by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh: 19–29 October 2011

King Charles and Queen Camilla confirm visit to Australia and Samoa in October

Topic: Royalty

The official Australian portraits of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. ( Photograph by Millie Pilkington 2024 )

King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit New South Wales and the ACT in October this year. 

The royals will also attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa. 

What's next? 

The royal family said further details of the visit would be announced "in due course". 

King Charles and Queen Camilla have announced they will visit Australia and Samoa in October. 

A statement from the royal family confirmed the king and queen's visit would include engagements in Canberra and New South Wales, with further details to be announced "in due course". 

The royals will also attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which will be held in Samoa between October 21 and 25. 

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the king was planning a visit to Australia.

King Charles and Camilla last visited Australia in 2018.  ( ABC News: Lucy Murray )

Preparations began for a royal visit, however they were thrown into doubt by the king's cancer diagnosis .

It marks the first visit to Australia from a reigning monarch since Queen Elizabeth II visited Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth in 2011 , and the first from a new monarch since her visit in 1954.

She visited Australia 16 times while reigning. 

King Charles and Queen Camilla last visited Australia in 2018 when the Commonwealth Games were hosted on the Gold Coast. The pair also visited the Northern Territory.

It was the latest of 15 visits by King Charles to Australia in an official capacity. 

The visit will also be historical for Samoa, who are the first Pacific nation to host CHOGM.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Brisbane as part of their tour in 2011. ( AAP: Lyndon Mechielsen )

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SNAPSHOT: The 1954 Royal Tour

Princess Elizabeth was en route to Australia, via Kenya, when she received news in February 1952 of the premature death of her father, 56-year-old King George VI. She hastily abandoned her trip but visited Australia two years later as the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II, the first and only reigning British monarch ever to do so. That 1954 visit was the first of 16 royal tours by the Queen to Australia but was, by every measure, the most successful – and resoundingly so. Royal fever gripped the postwar nation, which seemed to fall, en masse, under the spell of the young queen. During the two-month sojourn it’s estimated that more than 7 million Australians – 70 per cent of the population – attempted to see Elizabeth and her consort, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

In Sydney, 1 million residents reportedly thronged the harbour foreshore and lined the city streets, waiting for hours just to glimpse the royal couple following their arrival on 3 February 1954 at Farm Cove aboard the royal barge.

During the following 58 days, the pair visited 57 towns and cities across the country on an exhausting program of public engagements and community and sporting events. They saw natural wonders such as the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains and the Great Barrier Reef, and watched surf carnivals and gymnastics displays. They met Indigenous leaders, war veterans, farmers and factory workers and hordes of schoolchildren. Australia presented itself as a confident and vigorous young nation with seemingly boundless resources. It was forward-looking while still valuing its strong bonds with the motherland.

It wasn’t until the Queen’s next tour, in 1963, that Prime Minister Menzies famously quoted the poetic phrase “I did but see her passing by, and yet I love her till I die”. But he was already feeling effusive in 1954, and avowed his most profound and passionate feelings of loyalty and devotion to the throne in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald .

Formal celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – 70 years on the throne – the first British monarch to reach such a milestone, will take place in the UK across the long weekend 2–5 June 2022. Among the events and celebrations here in Australia, the Queen’s Jubilee Program is providing up to $15.1 million in grants to eligible groups and organisations for community-based tree-planting programs.

For more information, see The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee 2022 .

All photographs by Max Dupain/Courtesy of the State Library of New South Wales

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King Charles, Queen plan six-day Australia visit

Canberra and Sydney are set to roll out a royal welcome ahead of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s first visit to Australia as a reigning monarch.

The King and Queen will visit the cities as part of a six-day visit to Australia between October 18 and 23, the first since it was announced the King was undergoing cancer treatment.

Details of the itinerary reveal the Canberra leg of the trip will see both King and Queen welcomed at Parliament House by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for a reception with political and community leaders.

The prime minister said Australians would look forward to welcoming the King and Queen back to Australia.

“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,” he 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.”

🇦🇺🇼🇸 The King and Queen will visit Australia and Samoa, and attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) from 18th – 26th October 2024. 👇 Click to read more. — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 10, 2024

Australians who are leading in their field in their field in areas such as sport, arts, culture and health will also be on the guest list to the event.

The royals will lay a wreath at the nearby Australian War Memorial and visit the Australian National Botanic Gardens to meet with staff and volunteers and will also take part in a tree planting.

King Charles will also carry out a visit to the CSIRO as part of a focus on the agency’s effort tackling bushfires, while Queen Camilla will meet with representatives at domestic violence charity GIVIT.

In Sydney, the King and Queen will conduct a fleet review of the navy, attend a community barbecue and visit the Opera House.

The visit will also involve the King meeting with Australians of the Year Georgina Long and Richard Scolyer, along with a meeting with Indigenous representatives.

There will be a visit to a library by the Queen to meet with children who are taking part in Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition.

It will be the first trip to Australia by a reigning monarch since 2011, when Queen Elizabeth II travelled to Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth.

King Charles has travelled to Australia 15 times, but the October trip will be the first since taking the throne.

Keep updated

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Buckingham Palace reportedly put final touches to King Charles and Queen Camilla's six-day tour of Australia

King Charles and Queen Camilla may just visit two Australian cities during their royal tour Down Under, with the schedule scaled back following the monarch's cancer diagnosis.

Buckingham Palace have put the final touches to King Charles and Queen Camilla's highly-anticipated Australian tour, with at least two cities on the itinerary.

It is understood the royal couple have so far penned in trips to Sydney and Canberra, likely some time in October, and the visit to the Southern Hemisphere will include their attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government on the island nation of Samoa.

On the schedule is set to be a trip to the world-famous Sydney Opera House and a likely stop off at the newly $22 million renovated New South Wales Parliament House.

According to The Sunday Telegraph, citing Canberra sources, the King and Queen will also be the stars of a glittery reception in the nation's capital.

The formal event will see Prime Minister Anthony Albanese introduce the pair. It is not known where the event will be held, but Parliament House is one of the venues floated.

It is unclear at this stage if Charles and Camilla will visit other cities or states, but it appears unlikely given the King has been told to rein in his royal duties.

Buckingham Palace revealed in February the 75-year-old had been diagnosed with a form of cancer while undergoing a separate procedure on an enlarged prostate.

The King has been receiving treatment for some months, taking time away from the public eye before the monarch returned to royal duties in late April.

While Charles vowed to "make up for lost time", it is believed the Australian tour will be cut back to just six days, with a 48-hour rest prior to flying to Samoa.

The idea of another royal Australian tour was first brought up in 2021.

Former NSW Legislative Council president Matthew Mason-Cox later met with then Prince Charles face-to-face for a possible visit at his Balmoral residence.

It was then decided 2024 would be the likely year for a visit by the royals to celebrate the 200-year anniversary of the Council.

Charles and Camilla last visited Australia more than six years ago in 2018 to open the Commonwealth Games held on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

The last major royal to tour Australia was Princess Anne in 2022. Before that it was Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - who visited Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga in October 2018.

An announcement of the King and Queen's visit could be as soon as next week.

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Royal Romance

The Royal Romance exhibition examined Australia's passionate response to Queen Elizabeth II's first visit in 1954. The tour was a high-point of royal adulation in Australia. It was one of the nation’s last great pre-television events.

Royal Romance was previously on show at the National Museum of Australia from February to October 2004.

In our collection

1954 Royal Tour of Australia

On 3 February 1954 the royal barge pulled into Farm Cove, Sydney. The newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II stepped ashore, becoming the first reigning British monarch to visit Australia. Australians responded passionately to the young Queen, turning out in their millions to catch a brief glimpse of their sovereign.

For the next 2 months, until her departure from Fremantle, the Queen's visit provided Australians with a chance to celebrate and demonstrate their loyalty. Almost three-quarters of the Australian population took advantage of the opportunity, seeing the Queen at least once during the visit.

Royal Romance takes a look back on this, the most celebrated of royal tours. Decades later the passionate response of Australians to the Queen's 1954 visit requires some explanation.

Changing role of the monarchy

The royal tour by the Queen in 2000 attracted considerable interest, but not the mass excitement of her first visit. In 1954 Australians overwhelmingly supported remaining a constitutional monarchy.

By the 1990s the mood had shifted to the point where becoming a republic was the focus of major public debate. While Australians rejected the 1999 referendum proposal for Australia to become a republic, the proposal revealed a fundamental shift in Australia's attitude to the monarchy.

In developing Royal Romance , the National Museum explored the response of Australians to the Queen, why some people were so infatuated with her 50 years ago and whether we have fallen out of love since. The exhibition also examined the role of the monarchy as the living embodiment of Australia's British heritage. It explored the link between the Crown and the people and the way in which the Queen can become part of our daily lives even though she lives half a world away.

Australia on show

The 1954 Royal Tour of Australia provided Australians with a chance to celebrate their country’s achievements and potential. What the Queen was shown, and the mass display of loyalty by the Australian people who turned out in such numbers to see her, has even greater significance when viewed in the social, political and economic context of the times.

Australia on parade

During their 2-month stay in Australia the Queen and Prince Philip were shown a bewildering variety of people, places and products.

Australia was displayed as a youthful and vigorous place, a land of endless resources and possibilities. There were displays of youngsters en masse in most major cities. Children danced, sang, performed gymnastics and presented flowers to the Queen.

The royal couple met servicemen, Indigenous people, civic dignitaries and sportsmen; attended garden parties, horse races at Randwick and Flemington, a cricket match in Adelaide; and a surf lifesaving carnival in Sydney. They visited rural Australia, metropolitan Australia, sailed the waters of the Great Barrier Reef and visited the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains.

Industry and resources

The postwar shift from production to consumption was only just beginning in Australia. Increasing numbers of women were returning to the workforce and adding to households’ disposable income. The public imagination was still dominated by images of Australia as a land of resources and Australia was still an economy based heavily on primary industry.

In Newcastle the royal party visited the steel foundry and met with workers. At Dubbo, the itinerary included a pastoral review with woodchopping demonstrations and sheep shearing contests. In Victoria the Queen and Duke met workers at the brown coal mine at Yallourn.

The Duke visited the rocket range at Woomera to see the latest in Anglo-Australian rocket technology. Although signs of Britain’s decline as a world power were already evident, most people were happy to ignore them. The explosion of the Anglo-Australian atomic bomb at Maralinga was not only seen to have put Australia on the modern technology map, but also confirmed Britain’s role as one of the few nuclear powers on the globe.

Commemorative ceremonies

The Queen also visited war memorials. In 1954 veterans from the First and Second World Wars were joined by veterans from the Boer War and Sudan Campaign. In Melbourne the Queen opened the forecourt of the Shrine of Remembrance, while the Melbourne Cricket Ground was the scene of a display by massed ex-servicemen.

Queen Elizabeth also opened the third session of Parliament in Canberra.

Queen on show

During the 1954 royal tour, Australia was on show, but so too was the Queen. In political terms, the particular relevance of the Queen’s first visit was set by the Statute of Westminster, issued in 1931.

Prompted by the governments of Canada and South Africa, the Statute gave the Dominions of the British Empire the chance to establish themselves as independent nations of equal status to Britain. This formal independence changed the role of the Crown, which now became the foremost symbol of unity among the independent peoples of the British Commonwealth.

However, successive Australian governments did not see fit to ratify the Statute until 1942, when British power east of Suez had collapsed at Singapore and the fear of Japanese invasion gripped the Australian nation.

Official war artist Ivor Hele was commissioned to paint the Queen opening the third session of the 20th parliament on 15 February 1954. An artist with a strong sense of history and a talent for portraiture, was ideally suited for the commission.

Show of loyalty at a time of conflict

The 1954 visit gave Australians the chance to reaffirm their connections with Britain and for Britain to witness scenes of loyalty from Australia. These fulsome expressions of loyalty must have provided great comfort for some in London who feared that Australia was being lost to the Americans and may have given some illusory hope that the British Empire was still a force in world politics.

Two years later the Suez crisis underlined the loss of British power and highlighted American ascendency. From that point on, Britain and Australia were clearly subordinate allies of the United States in the Cold War confrontation between communism and capitalism.

That conflict was something that the Queen didn’t see during her tour, but it was widely present in Australian society. Chifley’s Labor government had crushed the striking miners of New South Wales in 1949 and Menzies tried, unsuccessfully, to outlaw the Communist Party of Australia in 1951.

Although this attempt failed in the short-term, the communist issue split the labour movement, ensuring that the 1950s are popularly remembered as a period of Menzies-inspired conservatism.

The 1954 tour was a high-point of royal adulation in Australia. It was one of the nation’s last great pre-television events.

Despite the continuing relevance of the constitutional monarchy in Australia’s political system, the royal tour in 2000 generated far less enthusiasm. It is difficult to imagine a visit of the scale, excitement and fervour seen in 1954, occurring in today’s Australia.

Exhausting itinerary

The Queen’s tour was comprehensive and she visited every state and territory, except the Northern Territory, from her arrival on 3 February to her departure on 1 April. The royal party was based in major cities for most of their stay, but made numerous side trips to other locations.

New South Wales Sydney: 3–18 February, Newcastle: 9 February, Lismore: 9–10 February, Casino: 10 February, Dubbo: 10 February, Wollongong: 11 February, Bathurst: 12 February, Katoomba: 12 February, Lithgow: 12 February, Wagga Wagga: 13 February.

Australia Capital Territory Canberra: 13–18 February.

Tasmania Hobart: 20–23 February, Wynyard: 23 February, Burnie: 23 February, Ulverstone: 23 February, Devonport: 23 February, Cressy: 23–24 February, Launceston: 24 February.

Victoria Melbourne: 24 February – 9 March.

South Australia Mount Gambier: 26 February.

Victoria Hamilton: 26 February, Flinders: 2 March, Sale: 3 March, Traralgon: 3 March, Yallourn:3 March, Warragul: 3 March, Benalla: 5 March, Shepparton: 5 March, Echuca: 5 March, Rochester: 5 March, Bendigo: 5 March, Castlemaine: 5 March, Maryborough: 5 March, Ballarat: 6 March, Geelong: 6 March, Warburton: 6 March.

Queensland Brisbane: 9–18 March, Bundaberg: 11 March, Toowoomba: 11 March, Cairns: 12 March, Townsville: 13 March, Mackay: 15 March, Rockhampton: 15 March.

New South Wales Broken Hill: 18 March.

South Australia Adelaide: 18–26 March, Whyalla: 20 March, Port Lincoln: 20 March, Woomera: 22 March, Renmark: 23 March, Mildura: 25 March.

Western Australia Kalgoorlie: 26 March, Perth: 26 March, Busselton: 30 March, Albany: 30 March, Northam: 31 March, York: 31 March, Fremantle: 1 April.

Facts and figures

The 1954 tour was a high-point of royal adulation in Australia. It is difficult to imagine a visit of such scale occurring in today’s Australia. Here are some interesting facts and figures from the 1954 Royal Tour:

• 510,000 pounds sterling approximately in total contributed by the federal government
• 500,000 miles travelled by the cars of the Royal Visit Car Company
• 200,000 pounds sterling contributed by the federal government for the use of the yacht  Gothic
• 200,000 people filled the streets in the city of Sydney when decorations for the royal tour were illuminated for the first time
• 20,000 cars trapped in the gridlock that choked the city of Sydney when decorations for the royal tour were illuminated for the first time
• 10,000 miles travelled by the Queen
• 57 hours spent by the Queen in aeroplanes
• 35 flights by the Duke
• 33 flights by the Queen

Road travel

• 2,000 road miles travelled by the Queen
• 207 car journeys made by the Queen
• 130 hours spent by the Queen in motor cars

Food usage aboard Gothic

• 10,000 cartons of canned fruit from Shepparton
• 5,000 cartons of tomato juice
• 3,237 bags of milk powder
• 1,500 cases of canned meat

Public engagements

• 100 speeches made by the Queen in towns and cities she visited
• 5 engagements per day

13 Feb 2011

Collectorfest: a right royal celebration.

• Download Collectorfest: a right royal celebration audio file (29.5 MB)
• View transcript

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The National Museum of Australia acknowledges First Australians and recognises their continuous connection to Country, community and culture.

This website contains names, images and voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that the National Archives' website and collection contain the names, images and voices of people who have died.

Some records include terms and views that are not appropriate today. They reflect the period in which they were created and are not the views of the National Archives.

The 1954 royal tour

A royal visitor.

On 3 February 1954, the steamship Gothic arrived in Sydney Harbour, carrying the first reigning monarch to visit Australia – Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip. In just under 2 months, the royal couple would travel around Australia by train, car, and plane. They would visit almost every capital city except Darwin, and 40 country towns. Among the revellers, children turned up en masse to view the royal couple, and some even participated in official events. 

A tremendous task

In Sydney, an estimated 120,000 children and their teachers gathered in Centennial Park, the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and the Sydney Showgrounds. The Herald reported transporting the students took 80 trains, 209 trams and 214 busses. At the SCG, students were organised into concentric circles so that the royal couple’s Land Rover could pass within 24 feet (7.3 metres) of most of the children. The children were issued coloured streamers attached to short sticks called ‘wavers,’ which came to life at 11:40 am when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh entered the cricket grounds. An enthusiastic roar accompanied the rush of excitement.  Similar gatherings took place in other large cities. For example, a children’s pageant was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The pageant included children from 6 to 18 years of age, marching, performing callisthenics, and maypole dancing while wearing colourful costumes. As the grand finale, the children formed the word ‘WELCOME’, and the Queen and Duke boarded a Land Rover so that they could drive among the performers. At this point, some exuberant children broke free of their ranks, swamping the royal car and briefly stalling its progress. Finally, the amused Duke ordered them to clear the way.

'OUR QUEEN'

The formation of words by children in tableaux performances occurred across Australia. In Brisbane and outside of Parliament House, they formed the phrase ‘OUR QUEEN.’ At the Wayville Showgrounds in Adelaide, they formed the word ‘LOYALTY’ and at Manuka Oval in Canberra, ‘WELCOME.’  Throngs of people, keen to catch a glimpse of the nation’s sovereign, greeted the royal couple everywhere they travelled. Their journey and activities were meticulously recorded and compiled by film director Colin Dean and his team. The footage formed the first colour full-length feature film made in Australia. Included is a section devoted to the children’s contribution to the celebrations, capturing the young audience's enthusiasm. 

The Queen in Australia (feature film)

The aftermath

While the effort to put on these displays was enormous, time spent with the children was extremely short. Although the royal couple were only in Canberra for 4 full days, the Queen's schedule was unrelenting. It included opening Parliament, unveiling the Australian-American Memorial, opening Union House at the Australian National University, and laying a wreath and planting a tree at the Australian War Memorial. They also attended Manuka Oval for the children’s welcome, only to depart 30 minutes later.  Records held by the National Archives include detailed communications, maps, and diagrams used in the organisation of royal events. The day was likely exhausting for the young participants, with many students arriving at the events hours before they were due to commence. A photo from our collection shows exhausted muddy revellers, slightly dishevelled yet still clutching and waving their commemorative flags.   

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Associate Professor of English, Flinders University

Disclosure statement

Giselle Bastin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Flinders University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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“Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth” has died. Given her advanced years, this has long been expected, yet it still seems incredible this woman who has been Australia’s queen for the duration of most Australians’ lives is no longer with us.

While the focus of the formalities and ceremony of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II will centre on London and the UK, there is no doubt it will be keenly observed by many Australians.

The queen liked Australia and Australians. She came here 16 times throughout her reign and was, famously, on her way to our shores in 1952 when she learned her father had passed on and she was now queen.

Her visits to Australia – from her first in 1954 through to her last in 2011 – offer a snapshot of the changing relationship Australians have had with their sovereign and with the monarchy.

An enthusiastic nation

The queen’s 1954 tour took place during a time described by historian Ben Pimlott as the age of “ British Shintoism ”. Deference to the Crown was paramount in Britain and the Commonwealth, and many Australians were madly enthusiastic about their queen.

After her arrival at Farm Cove in Sydney on February 3 1954, Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to set foot on Australian soil. The royal tour lasted nearly two months and consisted of a gruelling schedule taking in visits to every state and territory apart from the Northern Territory.

During the tour, the queen greeted over 70,000 ex-service men and women; drove in cavalcades that took in massive crowds; attended numerous civic receptions; and opened the Australian Parliament in Canberra. The tour saw Elizabeth travel 10,000 miles by air and 2,000 miles by road – including 207 trips by car and by appointed royal trains.

It is estimated as much as 75% of the population saw the queen and Prince Philip during this tour.

No Australian prime minister has ever had a reception on this scale or exposure to so many of the country’s citizens.

A “new” and prosperous country

During her first two tours in 1954 and 1963, the Australia laid-out for display for the queen was depicted as having gone from being a small colonial settlement to a thriving economy that had ridden to prosperity “ on the sheep’s back ”.

The queen was treated to endless displays of sheep shearing, surf carnivals, wood chopping, whip cracking, and mass displays of dancing and singing by school children. Federal and state dignitaries, mayors and civic leaders from across the political divide jostled to meet and be seen with her; the country’s florists were emptied of flowers for the hundreds of bouquets presented to her by dozens of shy, nervous school children nudged gently forward by awe-struck parents.

During the early tours, Aboriginal Australians were kept at a discreet distance. Apart from a demonstration of boomerang and spear throwing, the closest the queen came to experiencing anything of Indigenous Australian culture was a ballet performed by the Arts Council Ballet titled Corroboree, with no Aboriginal dancers but dancers with blackened faces.

During the 1970 visit, the queen witnessed the re-enactment of Captain James Cook’s arrival at Botany Bay, with Cook and his crew meeting “the resistance of the Aborigines with a volley of musket fire”.

By 1973, Indigenous Australians were given a more significant role in the royal tours. Aboriginal actor Ben Blakeney, one of Bennelong’s descendants, gave the official welcome during the opening of the Sydney Opera House, and the then unknown actor David Gulpilil was among those performing a ceremonial dance.

Invited guest, not ruler of the land

As early as the 1963 tour, the nation-wide royal fervour had dimmed a little. The 1963 visit witnessed smaller crowds and fewer mass public events. When Prime Minister Robert Menzies courted the queen with the now-famous line, “I did but see her passing by, and yet I love her till I die”, the ensuing blushes – including the queen’s own – reflected many Australians’ growing sense of embarrassment at public displays and unquestioning expressions of deference.

Despite this, Menzies’ displays of public ardour saw him being granted The Order of the Thistle shortly after, a bestowal which must surely remain the envy of some subsequent prime ministers.

The 1977 Silver Jubilee and 1988 Australian bicentenary visits perhaps marked the end of a period of royal tours as overt celebrations of Australia’s ties to Britain. This new flavour of tours positioned the sovereign as an invited guest to an independent, modern and multi-cultural nation.

On her 10th tour in 1986, the queen returned to sign the Australia Act , which brought to an end the ability of the UK to create laws for Australia.

Her role as our sovereign subtly transformed from cutting ribbons and opening Parliament to signing the documents that slowly, by degrees, contributed to the cutting of Australia’s ties to the UK and the Crown.

A question of the republic

By the 12th tour in 1992, the cost of the queen’s visits to Australia were increasingly scrutinised by a public feeling largely indifferent about the royal family. The prime minister of the day, Paul Keating, was seen not so much as an entranced liege lord revelling in the opportunity to see his sovereign “passing by” as one who instead – unthinkingly – committed an act of lèse majesté by placing his bare hand on the royal back and waist as he guided her through the crowd.

The gloves, it seemed, were coming off.

The queen made it clear in her last visits to our shores that whether or not Australia should become a republic was a decision for its own citizens to make. Her official announcement after she learned of the result of the 1999 Republic Referendum confirmed this:

I have always made it clear that the future of the Monarchy in Australia is an issue for the Australian people and them alone to decide, by democratic and constitutional means. … My family and I would, of course, have retained our deep affection for Australia and Australians everywhere, whatever the outcome.

In the last decades of her life, the queen retained the affection of many. Her popularity seemed to grow in line with Australians’ increased disenchantment with their home-grown political leaders: the former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Julia Gillard are right to have sensed that any discussion about an Australian republic would have to wait until after Elizabeth II’s death.

Queen Elizabeth II reigned across seven decades and her tours to Australia served as a marker of Australia’s changing relationship with the Crown as well as with its own colonial past and national identity.

Almost certainly, Elizabeth II’s reign as the stalwart, loyal, dutiful, and most cherished and admired of “Glorianas” is one we are unlikely ever to see again.

Correction: the article previously stated the queen was on her way to Australia in 1953 when she learned of her father’s death. This has been corrected to 1952.

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King Charles & Camilla’s Australian Itinerary Has Been Revealed

King Charles and Queen Camilla have formally set dates for their royal visit to Australia—and it’s been slightly pared back to accommodate the King’s health concerns . Upon medical advice, the King and Queen will visit Australia for a total of five days, with the full trip Down Under packed into a week. The pair’s visit will cover Australia and Samoa, where King Charles will attend the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

An Australian visit has been on the cards since King Charles’ coronation in May 2023, with the October visit marking His Majesty’s first visit to Australia as the reigning monarch.

He and Camilla last visited Australia in 2018.

When Will King Charles And Queen Camilla Visit Australia?

King Charles and Camilla will visit Australia between Friday 18th and Saturday 22nd of October, before they head to Samoa until the 26th.

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Where in australia will king charles and queen camilla visit.

If you’re wondering where King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit in Australia, their official itinerary was released on September 11. The two will attend some events together, and others separately. While the King will stick to duties reflecting his interests, including sustainability, the environment and cancer research, Queen Camilla will attend to duties focused on her passion for reading, literacy and domestic and family violence.

King Charles & Camilla’s Australian Itinerary 2024:

• Parliament House, Canberra — Charles an Camilla will first stop in our capital, Canberra, where they will be welcomed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. King Charles will address an official reception of local politicians, community leaders and “prominent Australians who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in a variety of fields, including health, arts, culture and sports.”
• The Australian War Memorial, Canberra — Charles and Camilla will lay a wreath to fallen soldiers at the War Memorial, and visit the memorial dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans.
• Sydney Harbour — The royals will conduct a “Fleet Review” of the Royal Australian Navy
• Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) — King Charles will visit the CSIRO and meet with firefighters to lean about the centre’s work to combat bushfires
• Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra — Charles and Camilla will tour the gardens, featuring the world’s largest collection of Australian native plants, and learn about indigenous plant use, plus hear from staff and volunteers about how climate change is affecting biodiversity.
• Meeting with Professor Georgina Long and Professor Richard Scolyer — King Charles will meet with these Australians of the Year to discuss their work on melanoma research and treatment.
• Sydney Library — At an undisclosed library in Sydney, Camilla will meet children participating in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition workshop.
• A forum on family violence, Canberra — The Queen will join a discussion on domestic and family violence with survivors and experts in the field.
• GIVIT charity meeting — As a patron of the charity, Camilla will also meet with representatives of the GIVIT charity platform.
• A BBQ, Western Sydney — To experience the cultural diversity of Australia, and sample some of our finest homegrown foods, the King and Queen will attend a BBQ in Sydney’s west, where they will also meet with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives to learn about “supporting local community” and “strengthening culture”.

The couple’s Australian visit will coincide with Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, which King Charles and Queen Camilla will continue onto after Australia. CHOGM is held every two years and sees the 56 nations come together.

Stay tuned for further updates to t

Rebecca Mitchell is a senior writer at marie claire Australia. She graduated from Charles Sturt University in 2011 already with solid media experience under her belt. She started her career in broadcast news, simultaneously hosting the Never Talk Politics radio programme on 2MCE and as a reporter at WIN News. After returning to her hometown of Sydney, she worked as a journalist in lifestyle media, including at Mamamia, SheSaid, and Foxtel’s Lifestyle group. Formerly a freelance journalist, you can find her words at Refinery29, Urban List, Broadsheet, and more.

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King Charles and Queen Camilla's royal tour of Australia and Samoa confirmed by palace

Charles and camilla last visited australia in 2018.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit Australia and Samoa as part of an autumn tour in October this year, the palace has confirmed.

During their tour, Their Majesties will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2024.

The King, 75, and Queen, 76, 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.

Meanwhile, their State Visit to Samoa will celebrate the strong bilateral relationship between the Pacific Island nation and the U.K.

Regarding their visit to Australia, a Palace spokesperson said: "Their Majesties will visit the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Samoa.

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"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."

It will be the first trip Down Under by a reigning monarch since 2011, when Elizabeth II visited for the last time. Charles and Camilla last visited Australia in 2018, when they represented the late Queen Elizabeth II at the Commonwealth Games.

The late Queen Elizabeth II made 16 visits to Australia during her reign, each accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh. She first visited as monarch in 1954, having stopped in New Zealand en route, with the final one in October 2011.

In order to prioritise King Charles' continued recovery, Charles and Camilla won't be undertaking an extended programme and will not be visiting New Zealand as part of their tour.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace 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."

To mark the announcement of their autumn tour, new portraits of Their Majesties wearing their Australian, and separately their New Zealand decorations, have been released.

Charles has been undergoing treatment for an undiagnosed form of cancer since February.

It's not known how much longer the King's treatment will continue but a palace spokesperson stated that his medical team "are very encouraged by the progress made so far and remain positive about The King’s continued recovery".

After a brief hiatus from public duties earlier this year, the monarch made a return to the spotlight in April and has since undertaken an array of royal engagements.

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King and Queen to undertake shorter than usual Australia Royal Tour due to King's cancer

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• Tuesday 10 September 2024 at 4:44pm

Royal Editor

King Charles will make his first visit to a Realm, where he remains the Head of State, when he lands in Australia next month on a royal tour which has been curtailed because of his cancer diagnosis.

The King and Queen Camilla’s visit has been confined to Sydney and the capital, Canberra.

Evening engagements have also been severely limited on the orders of the King’s doctors.

Initial plans for the royal tour to take in other Australian states like Queensland and Victoria had to be shelved in collaboration with the Australian government.

New Zealand was taken off the travel itinerary some time ago because of the King’s health.

But the King and Queen will still travel to the Pacific Island of Samoa after leaving Australia for a major Commonwealth summit which is being hosted there.

It will be the King’s first summit as Head of the Commonwealth, a role he assumed upon the death of Queen Elizabeth.

When the Monarch lands in Australia, he will be welcomed there by his official title as King of Australia.

It is the first time since he acceded to the throne that the King has been to one of the 14 countries outside the UK where he remains head of state.

But throughout, royal officials have had to be mindful of not pushing the tour schedule too far and have built in plenty of rest time so the King, who is 75, can recover from his day of engagements.

Palace officials would not comment on whether the King will need any kind of cancer treatment during the trip.

He will, however, meet two celebrated Australian professors who have been leading work on treating the country’s most common cancer, melanoma.

In Sydney Harbour, Charles and Camilla will conduct a Fleet Review of the Royal Australian Navy and, in Canberra, they will pay respects to Australians who have given their lives in conflicts around the world.

The King will also address the Australian Parliament.

Although short by usual royal tour standards, the King and Queen will undertake what royal sources called an “intense schedule” taking in themes on climate change, tackling bush fires and supporting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

In Samoa, which the King has only visited once before when he was serving with the Royal Navy in 1974, Charles and Camilla will embark on a State Visit before he opens the biannual Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit which is being held there.

The last CHOGM meeting was held in Rwanda in 2022 when Boris Johnson was UK Prime Minister and the King was the Prince of Wales and attended on behalf of his mother, the late Queen.

Sir Keir Starmer will be at the Samoa summit, his first Commonwealth gathering as Prime Minister, and will meet leaders from the other 55 member countries.

The King and Queen will be travelling for ten days in total and the whole programme has been approved by Charles’ medical team as they continue to treat his cancer.

This is the Royal Rota - our weekly podcast about the royal family, with ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson

Relive Prince Charles and Princess Diana's 1983 Royal Tour of Australia and New Zealand, in Photos

The couple's iconic trip features in season four of The Crown .

In 1983, the Princess of Wales undertook her first overseas tour—and her first-ever trip abroad—at just 22 years of age. Diana , Prince Charles , and a baby Prince William spent more than 40 days in Australia and New Zealand, seeing the sights and meeting with dignitaries and locals alike. Now that the unforgettable visit has been recreated on The Crown 's fourth season , it's high time we look back at the real thing. Below, photos from the royal couple's iconic tour.

The Prince and Princess of Wales touched down in the relatively remote Alice Springs. According to a People article from the time, the locale was chosen "precisely because it had never received royalty on such a grand scale."

Diana famously refused to leave her young son behind, as had been the royal custom for overseas tours up to that point.

For the most part, Prince William stayed with his nanny at Woomargama Station, a working sheep ranch where Ronald Reagan had once stayed. Charles and Diana visited with him frequently throughout their tour.

No trip to Australia is complete without a kangaroo, and the royal couple were able to spot one early on in their trip.

As is still the case, a large part of royal tours involves meeting with fans and glad-handing the public.

The royal couple hiked Ayers Rock during their stay in Australia's Northern Territory. ( The Crown cast was spotted recreating this same scene on location in Spain in 2019 .)

The Prince and Princess met with Australian Prime Minister. Bob Hawke and his wife, Hazel, in front of Canberra's Government House.

Diana chose a pink dress by Bellville Sassoon, one of her go-to labels, and a hat by John Boyd for a walkabout in front of the Sydney Opera House.

Charles places his hand on Diana's back as the approach the crowd of local fans.

The Princess wore a bright blue belted gown by Bruce Oldfield to a gala at Sydney's Wentworth Hotel.

The couple dressed to the nines and busted out their royal orders for a state reception in Hobart, Tasmania.

Diana famously loved to dance.

Charles and Diana show a little PDA during an engagement.

The duo wave from a balcony in Adelaide, Australia. Diana is wearing an Arabella Pollen suit and John Boyd hat, which pair well with her stylish bouquet.

The Princess of Wales opted for a red and white color palette during an appearance in Renmark, Australia.

Charles and Diana wave to the crowd during a walkabout in Perth. The Princess's hot pink Donald Campbell dress pairs well with a matching John Boyd hat.

Some of the younger locals get a chance to speak with the royals.

A young girl hands Diana a flower as she and Charles ride through Bunbury's Hands Oval sports ground.

Diana went full '80s in a ruffled Catherine Walker gown and pearls to attend a concert in Melbourne.

The Prince and Princess stage a photo opp in front of a highly photographable model pineapple at the Ginger Factory in Yandina, Australia.

Chloe is a News Writer for Townandcountrymag.com , where she covers royal news, from the latest additions to Meghan Markle’s staff to Queen Elizabeth’s monochrome fashions ; she also writes about culture, often dissecting TV shows like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Killing Eve .

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In March of 1983, Prince Charles and Princess Diana embarked on their first overseas royal engagement as a couple: an ambitious six-week tour of Australia and New Zealand. Per The Telegraph , this royal tour is now remembered as the moment when “Dianamania” first took root worldwide, as the princess drew adoring crowds in every city they visited. And in season 4 of The Crown , the tour is depicted as a tipping point not only for Diana's development as a celebrity , but also in her rocky relationship with Charles . Here's what you need to know about the real-life tour.

How did Charles and Diana get along during their 1983 tour of Australia?

In the show, the tour gets off to a rocky start, as Charles (Josh O'Connor) and Diana (Emma Corrin) are both awkward in front of the press and miserable in private. Their public stumbling is accurate—Charles made a couple of gaffes that went down poorly down under, including a joke about feeding Prince William “warm milk and minced kangaroo,” which reportedly upset animal lovers.

In his infamous 1992 biography Diana: Her True Story—In Her Own Words , Andrew Morton called the tour "a test of endurance for Diana." The couple were greeted by hysterical crowds in many of the cities they visited, and Diana was "jet-lagged, anxious and sick with bulimia," per Morton.

Diana's turmoil was not particularly well-hidden, and at one point she burst into tears during a public appearance outside the Sydney Opera House. A photographer who captured the moment, Ken Lennox, described it during the documentary Inside the Crown: Secrets of the Royals, per Vanity Fair :

I’m about four feet from the princess and I’m trying to get a bit of the opera house in the background and some of the crowd, and Diana burst into tears and wept for a couple of minutes. Charles I don’t think has noticed [Diana crying] at that stage. If he has, typical of Prince Charles to look the other way.

So although we don't know exactly what happened behind closed doors, it seems safe to assume that Charles and Diana really were fighting in private, as the show depicts. One source of tension, according to Morton in his biography, was Charles's jealousy—Diana was overshadowing him, and he knew it:

While Diana looked to her husband for a lead and guidance, the way the press and public reacted to the royal couple merely served to drive a wedge between them. The crowds complained when Prince Charles went over to their side of the street during a walkabout… In public, Charles accepted the revised status quo with good grace; in private he blamed Diana.

But there were some notable high points, including Charles and Diana's dance together at a charity ball in Sydney. The public impression of the couple was, at this time, that they were very much in love.

Was there pushback to Charles and Diana bringing Prince William to Australia?

Not quite. Onscreen, Diana very reasonably refused to leave her 10-month-old son behind in England for weeks. She insists on bringing William along, angering Charles and many royal advisers in the process. Royal protocol dictates that two heirs should not travel together on the same trip in order to protect the line of succession—then, as now, Charles was first in line to the throne while William was second. This meant bringing William was breaking protocol.

But in real life, Diana didn't push the subject. In fact, according to Morton's biography, she was "all ready to leave William. I accepted that as part of duty, albeit it wasn’t going to be easy.” It was only when the former Australian prime minister, Malcolm Fraser, suggested they bring William that they realized it was a possibility.

And though William was separated from his parents for much of the tour, the family did enjoy some happy times together in Australia. In in her biography of Prince Charles (per Vanity Fair ) , Sally Bedell Smith describes a letter Charles wrote to a friend in which he recounts a particularly blissful moment with Diana and William. "The great joy was that we were totally alone together,” he wrote, recalling he and Diana watched William crawling around "at high speed knocking everything off the tables and causing unbelievable destruction," as they "laughed and laughed with sheer, hysterical pleasure.”

Did Charles and Diana's visit really prevent Australia from abolishing the monarchy?

The Crown depicts Charles and Diana's visit as having major political implications. In the show, newly-elected prime minister Bob Hawke is forced to make a U-turn in his plan to remove Australia from royal rule as part of the Commonwealth and turn the country into a republic. Why? Because Diana is so extraordinarily popular that public opinion has turned in favor of the monarchy.

Diana: Her True Story—In Her Own Words

"She's made us both look like chumps," Hawke tells Charles. "No offense, but if it'd just been you, I'd have got my wishes. But then she comes along!"

Though there's no evidence that a conversation like this actually took place between Hawke and Charles, the implication is otherwise pretty accurate. Throughout the 1970s, the popularity of the monarchy had been in decline in Australia, and Hawke was a staunch republican who made no secret of his feeling that the country would be better off as an independent nation.

But Diana was so beloved across the nation by the end of her tour with Charles that the republican cause had been set back by "two decades." When the country held a referendum in 1999 to vote on the possibility of becoming a republic, the public voted no. Today, though, polls suggest that public opinion in Australia is once again shifting away from the monarchy .

Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.

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The Crown: What Really Happened During Princess Diana and Prince Charles’s Fateful Tour of Australia

The title of season four, episode six of The Crown is “Terra Nullius,” a Latin phrase that means “nobody’s land.” Creator Peter Morgan no doubt picked it due to the presiding plotline: Charles and Diana’s 1983 royal tour of Australia, which coincides with the country’s growing movement to leave the British Commonwealth. Nearly 200 years earlier, Great Britain used the concept of “terra nullius” to justify colonizing Australia, claiming the land was unclaimed and unpopulated, despite its residing Aboriginal population.

But it also serves as a double entendre: Diana and Charles also find themselves in uncharted territory, a no man’s land. This is their first overseas tour together—and with the monarchy in a perilous position, a successful impression is paramount. Can they put aside their early marital problems, their clashing personalities, for the Crown? Or are they doomed to fail? While, for a brief moment, Morgan depicts the two sharing a moment of true connection, they are soon at odds again. After the tour is done, Charles takes a car back to their country home of Highgrove, whereas Princess Diana hightails it back to Kensington Palace in London. They never found common ground.

The episode chalks up their cracks to a multitude of factors: Diana’s supposed fragility—Charles gets frustrated that she can’t hike up Ayers Rock (now renamed Uluru) without stopping. The presence of Prince William—Diana wanted to bring him on tour and is anxious about their separation, much to the dismay of the royal courtiers and their strict schedules. Then, perhaps most of all, there’s Diana’s explosive popularity, which overshadows Charles’s: “This was supposed to be my tour! My tour as Prince of Wales to shore up a key country in the Commonwealth at a very delicate moment politically!” Josh O’Connor’s Charles screams at Emma Corrin’s Diana.

The Crown , at the end of the day, is historical fiction—the show takes real-life events and dramatizes them. So, in this hour-long tale of a very well-known couple, what’s fact, and what’s fiction?

It’s true that this was a politically sensitive tour: A wave of Republicanism was sweeping Australia, championed by its Prime Minister at the time, Robert Hawke. On March 6, 1983, a mere 12 days before Charles and Diana were set to fly to the continent, a television interviewer asked if Charles would make a good king of Australia. “I don't think we will be talking about kings of Australia forever more,” he replied. Then he said he thought people would eventually vote to have a republic.

Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and Prince William arrive in Alice Springs, Australia. Diana was the first royal to bring her baby on an overseas tour, breaking traditional protocol.

It’s also true that the monarchy was worried about how Diana would fare. The tour was a grueling one, by any standards: a month long, the couple were set to cover 30,000 miles and make up to eight appearances in one day. And while Prince Charles had been doing this type of work his whole life, it was 21-year-old Diana’s first overseas royal tour. “The Queen is ‘terribly worried’ before the tour because of Diana’s youth and apparent shyness,” wrote the Press Association’s royal correspondent Grania Forbes ahead of the trip.

It didn’t help that the British tabloids had already started to paint her as unpredictable—the Daily Mirror had recently published an exploitative story about rumors of her eating disorder. While the international press waited for the couple to land in Alice Springs, Australia from London, The Sydney Morning Herald ’s Alison Stuart recalled the reporters gossiping: “Would she snap, would she cry, would she collapse from the heat?”

At the beginning, Diana did indeed show signs of fatigue. The Sydney Morning Herald found that during the tour’s first engagement, she looked “uncomfortably sunburned” and that her “eyes were downcast.” Charles apologized and said they were both still suffering from jet-lag. On March 22—three days after they landed in Australia—an Associated Press report described her as red-faced and bare-legged. “I can’t cope with the heat very well,” she said.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana at Uluru. While The Crown suggests Diana struggled due to the heat, reports at the time say her hesitation was due to her rather impractical outdoor outfit.

In The Crown , a scene at Uluru supposedly showcases the princess’s early weakness. Only a few yards up the slope, Diana suddenly stops while the press pack eagerly snaps photos from below. “Charles, I can’t. The heat. I feel dizzy,” Corrin’s Diana exclaims. She leaves him to climb the rest alone. “I think I need to go and sit down.” Afterwards, O’Connor’s Charles snarls to his confidante Camilla Parker-Bowles on the phone: “She’s pathetic .”

Video footage at the time does show Diana hesitating on Uluru. Yet it wasn’t fatigue that caused the pause—rather, it was her outfit. Dressed in a dainty white frock with flats, it wasn’t, well, the most practical of hiking apparel. Especially when there are cameras below capturing your every move.

Here’s an account from the Morning Herald : “As she stepped off the plane at Ayers Rock, she looked down in horror. Her dress, buttoned down the front was immediately blown open revealing her petticoat and knees. From that moment, the Princess made constant but hopeless attempts to keep the dress closed,” they wrote. “When Charles coaxed her to climb part of the way up the rock, she hesitated, not through fear of slipping, but because she knew that coming down would expose her knees and petticoat to the world’s press.”

In reality, except for a few hiccups, Diana executed a remarkable performance in those initial days. “Despite the predictions, Diana, apart from some strain and tiredness, has fared well,” said the Morning Herald at the time. “She might be made of tougher stuff than many think.”

Prince Charles and Princess Diana get ready to dance in Sydney.

As the royal tour really got into the swing of things—and Diana’s sunburn and jet lag likely died down—Charles and Diana thoroughly charmed the country. They dynamically danced at Sheraton Wentworth Hotel, with Diana donning a spectacular turquoise dress. Charles scored a goal at a polo match in Sydney and the crowd erupted into cheers. (As The Crown shows, he did also fall, much to his chagrin.) In Perth, they made headlines when Charles tenderly kissed Diana’s hand in public. “Prince plays the gallant at royal party,” read a headline in the Times of London. And although that scene that shows Charles and Diana playing with baby Prince William on a blanket actually took place in New Zealand, not Australia, they did delight audiences by sharing cheerful tales about their young son. (Yes, William did love his stuffed koala.)

Diana’s popularity started to massively eclipse that of her husband. “The Princess of Wales was the woman they’d come to see, and the people of the Riverland weren’t disappointed,” a broadcaster from ABC said on April 6. “The Princess seemed more anxious to meet the people than did her husband. She dispensed tidbits concerning Prince William’s health, the weather, and jokingly inquired of an elderly citizen if she had any whiskey in her picnic basket.” They showed clips of Diana swarmed by crowds, one man holding up a sign that read “Di is beautiful.” On April 15, the Melbourne Herald ran a cartoon that showed a map of Australia superimposed with a heart. “Princess Diana,” read a caption. “A permanent imprint!” Two days later, the Sydney Herald echoed the same sentiment: “Di Thrills the Queen!” said a headline.

Three days later, the Times of London cemented Diana’s smashing success. They printed the headline “The Princess who won the heart of Australia.” The story began: “The month-long tour of Australia by the Prince and Princess of Wales, which ended yesterday when the royal couple flew to New Zealand, was an unqualified success, due in large part to the Princess. She won the heart of Australia.” The Evening Standard took it one step further, saying: ”This tour has set Republicanism back 10 years.” In Sarah Bradford’s book , Diana , she quotes a bodyguard who said her reception in Australia was akin to Beatlemania.

Princess Diana, surrounded by crowds outside the Sydney Opera House.

Sadly, The Crown is right: Diana’s supernova star-power in Australia did make Charles jealous, and caused additional tension in their marriage. In a 1995 interview with the BBC , the Princess recalled that the attention she received during the tour’s royal walkabouts upset him. “We'd be going round Australia, for instance, and all you could hear was, ‘oh, she's on the other side.’ Now, if you're a man—like my husband—a proud man, you mind about that if you hear it every day for four weeks. You feel low about it, instead of feeling happy and sharing it.” The press fawning made things worse: “With the media attention came a lot of jealousy. A great deal of complicated situations arose because of that,” she said. It was, in some ways, the beginning of the end.

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Inside King Charles and Queen Camilla’s upcoming visit to Australia

After months of asking would they or wouldn’t they visit Australia thanks to King Charles’ 2024 cancer diagnosis, it has been confirmed that the new monarch and Queen Camilla are headed Down Under in October.

The news was shared by Buckingham Palace in July but details about the trip have been a closely guarded secret- until now!

See below for all the details we know about the upcoming visit.

Is King Charles coming to Australia in 2024?

King Charles and Queen Camilla will arrive in Australia on the evening of October 18.

The trip will be a short one as the sovereign continues to be treated for an undisclosed form of cancer he was diagnosed with at the start of the year.

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The visit will conclude on October 23 when the King and Queen will head off to Samoa to open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

“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,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said ahead of the visit.

“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.”

Where is King Charles visiting in Australia?

Their Majesties will undertake a number of engagements in Canberra and Sydney.

On the agenda while in the ACT is paying their respects by laying a wreath at the National War Memorial.

The King and Queen will also visit the Australian National Botanic Gardens, where they will meet with staff and volunteers to discuss the global impacts of climate change, a cause that Charles has long been at the forefront of.

While in Sydney, the royal couple will conduct a Fleet Review of the Royal Australian Navy, and attend a community BBQ celebrating Australia’s cultural diversity and showcasing quality produce from across New South Wales.

Making the most of their time, the pair split up in order to make several visits that are in line with their individual interests.

The King will learn about the ground-breaking cancer research led by Australians of the Year, Professor Georgina Long AO and Professor Richard Scolyer AO. He will also meet Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives and groups to learn about their work in supporting local community and strengthening culture.

The Queen will visit a library and meet children participating in a Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition workshop.

Has King Charles ever visited Australia?

The October 2024 visit will be the first since Charles became King following his ascension to the throne upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, on September 8, 2022.

However, he is no stranger to our shores and his been here on 15 official visits in the past.

Charles and Camilla last visited as the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall in 2018 where he opened the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

The King also attended the prestigious Geelong Grammar School for a term in 1966.

Charles also visited with the late Princess Diana in 1983, which also happened to be the first royal tour a baby Prince William went on.

It was reported in 2020 that William and wife, Princess Catherine, were also headed to our shores but this trip was delayed by the pandemic and Kate’s cancer diagnosi s.

Looking for more Royal content. Head to the  WHO Royals section .

Kylie is WHO’s Senior News and Features Writer and resident royal expert. After a decade in recruiting, Kylie fulfilled all of her teenage dreams by picking up a gig as the editorial coordinator at Girlfriend and she has never looked back. After short stints working on real-life magazine titles, that’s life! and Take 5, and at Daily Mail Australia, Kylie was head-hunted to work on WHO and joined the team in 2020. Her career highlight was writing a special on-the-ground report for WHO from London when she attended King Charles’ coronation in 2023. A specialist in royal reporting, her area of expertise often sees Kylie contribute to other Are media publications and she has written on the topic for marie claire Australia, Royals Monthly, TV Week and The Australian Women’s Weekly. When not writing, you’ll find Kylie watching Bridgerton or searching for the world’s best high tea spot.

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Every Single Outfit Meghan Markle Wore on Her Royal Tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand

Meghan Markle is expecting a baby , but she's also celebrating another royal first: She and Prince Harry have embarked on a royal tour of the Commonwealth halfway across the globe. From October 16 through 31, the couple will visit Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, and New Zealand, with an education- and serviced-based itinerary centered around environmental conservation, youth leadership, and rehabilitation for servicemen and women. And as we know from previous royal tours , that means there are a lot of photo ops.

With several days of appearances and events lined up, we're gearing up for two straight weeks of Duke and Duchess of Sussex moments—from PDA to, yes, fashion. And from the moment she touched down in Sydney, Markle has delivered. (Not that we expected anything less from a woman who can wear tuxedo dresses and fast-fashion blouses with equal finesse.) Early outfits have included looks by Karen Gee and Brandon Maxwell, which has only raised the anticipation for the rest of her travel wardrobe. So we're gathering them all in one place: Check out every single ensemble Markle has worn on her 2018 royal tour so far, with plenty of updates coming throughout the next two weeks.

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Markle started off her tour in Sydney, wearing a dress by Australian designer Karen Gee and nude Stuart Weitzman pumps, as well as jewelry belonging to the late Princess Diana .

She added a spring 2019 trench coat from another Australian label, Martin Grant, to tour Sydney Harbour later in the day.

She momentarily swapped her pumps for Rothy's signature pointy-toe flats while going to and from different engagements. (Duchesses, they're just like us!)

In the evening, Markle attended a reception hosted by the Governor-General of Australia, wearing a pleated-skirt shirtdress from Brandon Maxwell's latest collection and Tamara Mellon heels.

On the second day of the tour, Markle landed in Dubbo. She donned a more casual outfit for the day's activities: a Maison Kitsuné blouse, Outland Denim jeans , J.Crew boots , and a blazer from her friend Serena Williams' eponymous brand .

Markle arrived in Melbourne on Day Three in an asymmetric-hem Dion Lee dress with matching navy Manolo Blahnik pumps.

She added her Martin Grant trench coat and a Gucci clutch for the walkabout...

... and a pasta necklace she received from a child during it.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex then headed down to South Melbourne Beach. Markle changed into a Club Monaco dress and her Rothys flats .

Markle dressed for the beach in a Martin Grant maxi and Castañer espadrilles .

The Duchess visited an all-girls school wearing a sleeveless colorblocked Roksanda dress and Stuart Weitzman pumps .

On the fifth day of their tour, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex helped officially open Sydney's Anzac Memorial, a tribute to fallen Australian and New Zealand soldiers. For the occasion, Markle stepped out in an elegant Emilia Wickstead dress that she had custom-made in black and paired with a black Philip Treacy fascinator.

On Saturday the Duchess of Sussex attended the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge on Cockatoo Island wearing a white Altuzarra blazer over a black Invictus Games shirt and skinny jeans.

Markle sat alongside Prince Harry at the Invictus Games opening on Saturday, Oct. 20, which is major since she had to sit separately from her royal then-fiancé last year. But now that she's officially a duchess, she was smack dab in the center of the ceremony at the Sydney Opera house. She chose to honor the occasion with a now-sold-out Stella McCartney cape dress she's believed to have also worn to the Queen's 92nd birthday. She topped the look off with a coat by Gillian Anderson for Winser London and a pair of Stuart Weitzman heels.

After resting on Sunday morning, Markle joined Prince Harry for a lunchtime reception hosted by the Prime Minister with Invictus Games competitors and community representatives in Sydney, sporting a L'Agence white pinstriped linen -and-cotton blazer over a black turtleneck and black Outland jeans .

A sailing event during the Invictus Games called for casual, comfortable attire—jeans, an official jacket, and Veja sneakers .

Markle is already turning to some of her favorite affordable fashion brands for maternity wear. This & Other Stories dress sold out shortly after she was spotted wearing it.…

…Her Reformation dress and Sarah Flint sandals from the Fraser Island walkabout, however, are still available for purchase.

Markle wrapped the Australia portion of her trip with a casual airport look: a button-down blouse, Outland jeans , and Aquazzura flats .

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in Fiji for the second leg of their royal tour. Markle landed wearing a Zimmermann dress, Tabitha Simmons heels , Stephen Jones fascinator, and Kayu clutch .

On their first evening in Suva, Markle and Prince Harry attended a State Dinner hosted by the president of Fiji. She picked a caped gown by Safiyaa .

For a day around Suva, the Duchess wore a long-sleeve printed dress by Figue , espadrille wedges by Castañer , and a clutch given to her by local artisans.

Markle capped out her visit of Fiji in a Jason Wu sheath dress, Manolo Blahnik sandals, and Dior bag.

The third leg of the Royal Tour sees the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Tonga. Markle wore a long-sleeved, mid-length dress by Self-Portrait, made from red fabric meant to mimic the kingdom's flag.

That evening, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a private audience with King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u. She wore a custom white gown by Theia and brought out Princess Diana's jewelry once again—this time the aquamarine cocktail ring Prince Harry gave his bride as a wedding gift.

Markle kicked off the following day of her tour in a striped dress with a ribbon belt by Martin Grant. She wore the look for a meeting with Tonga's Prime Minister and a visit to an exhibition of Tongan handicrafts.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Tupou College for their last official event on the Tonga leg of the tour. Markle changed into a laid-back Veronica Beard shirtdress and Aquazzura pumps for the occasion.

The royal couple flew back to Sydney, Australia, that evening, where Meghan changed into her third—and most formal—look of the day. She presented an award at the Australian Geographic Society Awards wearing a red-carpet-worthy gown by Oscar de la Renta. Look closely, and you'll see that the dress is covered in embroidered birds, made by French embellishment designer Sarah Esmoingt .

Meghan Markle sat court-side at the Invictus Games on Saturday, showing her respect for players by pinning a Remembrance Day poppy to her Scanlan Theodore wrap jacket (the flower is a sign of support for those who have served in the Armed Forces and their loved ones). She paired the red blouse with what seems to be a pair of black Outland jeans and Sarah Flint heels .

The Duchess of Sussex closed out the Invictus Games in a style she has come to count on: She went for chic simplicity with an olive green Antonio Berardi tuxedo dress and a pair of Aquazzura heels .

Day 13 of the royal tour kicked off with a flight to New Zealand and a burgundy belted dress by Boss . On her feet? Those Aquazzura pumps.

Markle touched down in New Zealand wearing a new look: A plaid trench coat by Karen Walker with Sarah Flint pumps. Underneath, she wore a black midi maternity dress by ASOS —which you can still buy for $60 (a steal as far as shopping like a duchess goes).

Later that evening, the Sussexes visited the Government House in Wellington to celebrate the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage in New Zealand. The Duchess stunned in a black tea-length dress by Gabriela Hearst , one of several sustainable designers she has worn on the tour.

Her schedule for her second day in New Zealand was packed—which called for multiple outfit changes. First up, to meet a group of young people at a Wellington café, Markle wore a Jac + Jack turtleneck , Outland jeans , a Club Monaco trench coat , and Stuart Weitzman boots .

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex then traveled to Abel Tasman Park, which required more activewear. Markle kept the Outland jeans but swapped her heeled boots for Adidas x Stella McCartney sneakers and the Club Monaco trench for a navy windbreaker.

Judging by her royal tour wardrobe, the tuxedo dress is battling bateau necklines for Markle's signature look. She wore another buttoned-up style—this one by Maggie Marilyn—for a party at Courtenay Creative.

To dedicate an area of bush to the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, the Duchess of Sussex kept her outfit simple: Karen Walker blazer , Lavender Hill Clothing T-shirt , and rubber Muck boots .

Another day, another walkabout—this time, in a Brandon Maxwell sheath dress.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hosted the visiting Duke and Duchess at an evening reception, for which Markle re-wore an Antonio Berardi dress from May 2017 with Aquazzura heels.

ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND - OCTOBER 31: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive at Auckland War Memorial Museum for reception with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on October 31, 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on their official 16-day Autumn tour visiting cities in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Markle once again turned to Stella McCartney to design a custom dress, this time for her arrival at Rotorua. She accessorized with Manolo Blahnik heels and a necklace bearing a traditional Maori design , made from New Zealand jade.

For the final day of the royal tour, Markle went with a bespoke look from another of her go-to brands: Givenchy.

ROTORUA, ROTORUA - OCTOBER 31: (UK OUT FOR 28 DAYS) Meghan, Duchess of Sussex takes part in a walkabout on October 31, 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on their official 16-day Autumn tour visiting cities in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. (Photo by Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Markle borrowed her husband's jacket to wear over Mother jeans and her Givenchy blouse for their final engagement of the day (and trip!)

ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND - OCTOBER 31: (UK OUT FOR 28 DAYS) Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visit Redwoods Tree Walk on October 31, 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on their official 16-day Autumn tour visiting cities in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. (Photo by Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Coldplay is Bringing its 2025 World Tour to Abu Dhabi in a GCC-Exclusive Concert

Coldplay , one of the most renowned bands in the world, is bringing its Music of the Spheres World Tour to Abu Dhabi.

Set for January 11, at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi , this will be the sole Middle Eastern show for Coldplay, marking its much-anticipated return to the capital after nearly a decade. The concert promises a night of unforgettable music and is expected to be one of the UAE’s most memorable live events. The band will also be joined by Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna , who recently collaborated with Coldplay on the song “We Pray”.

The Music of the Spheres World Tour, which kicked off in March 2022 traveling across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Australasia, has broken attendance records, selling over 10 million tickets globally. The tour has received outstanding reviews from critics, with The Guardian calling it “a fantastical feel-good bonanza” and NME praising it as “genuinely stunning.” The Times said it was “the greatest live music show ever.” Fans in the UAE can expect a, exciting performance filled with lights, fireworks, and beloved hits like “Yellow,” “Fix You,” and “Viva La Vida.”

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Live Nation Middle East (@livenationme)

Ticket sales will kick off next week, with an artist presale starting at 12pm on Wednesday, September 25, via Coldplay.com . Live Nation, the tour’s global producer, will host their presale starting at 12pm on Thursday, September 26, on Livenation.me. For those who miss the presales, general tickets will go on sale at 12pm on Friday, September 27.

In addition, Coldplay reported that its current Music of the Spheres World Tour has generated 59% fewer carbon emissions compared to their previous stadium tour in 2016-2017. To further minimize the environmental impact, the band has planted over nine million trees worldwide, with an additional one million trees set to be planted.

Given Coldplay’s reputation for delivering one of the most memorable live performances in the music industry, fans in the UAE and beyond won’t want to miss this rare opportunity to see the band in Abu Dhabi. Ticket prices are yet to be announced, but demand is expected to be high, so expect them to sell out soon.

Read Next:  The Backstreet Boys Are Coming Back to the UAE — Here’s How To Get Early Tickets

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