His Majesty is still expected to visit Australia, but there are claims that plans to extend his South Pacific tour have been scrapped. The King has an “open invitation” to New Zealand, the country’s Prime Minister has said amid claims that his planned visit in the autumn has been shelved . The monarch’s tour of the South Pacific this year is still scheduled to go ahead, but has been scaled back because of his cancer diagnosis .
While the King and Queen are still expected to visit Australia and attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa in October, plans to extend the tour with visits to New Zealand and Fiji have been scrapped on doctors’ advice, according to reports. Asked about the development on Sunday, Christopher Luxon , the New Zealand Prime Minister, extended an “open invitation to King Charles”. Buckingham Palace officials, including Clive Alderton, the King’s private secretary, are understood to be in Australia this month making final arrangements for the visit.
The King is said to be “disappointed” not to be visiting New Zealand, but both sides are said to be aware of the need for him to pace himself amid his cancer treatment . The Australian leg of the tour is said to have been reduced to about six days, with a break lasting up to two days before the King and Queen travel to Samoa for three days. A source told the Mail on Sunday : “Officials first decided to drop Fiji and then New Zealand, because a trip like that is quite str.
