LONDON - King Charles III and Queen Camilla will make state visits to Australia and Samoa in October, albeit with a slimmed down timetable as the monarch recovers from cancer, Buckingham Palace said on Sunday.
The royal couple will visit Australia, where Charles is head of state, at the invitation of the Australian government, and will carry out engagements in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales.
They will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting during their visit to Samoa, added the palace.
But they have shelved initial plans to visit New Zealand as "the King's doctors have advised that such an extended programme should be avoided at this time, to prioritise his majesty's continued recovery," said a palace spokesperson.
His programme in Australia has also been scaled back due to his recovery.
The 75-year-old king only recently has resumed public engagements after he was diagnosed with an unspecified cancer in February.
The palace said it would release more details of the trip at a later date, but the Commonwealth summit takes place between October 21 and 25.
Charles made many visits to Australia while prince, but it will be the first since he became king in 2022. It will also be the first visit to the country by a reigning monarch since Queen Elizabeth's in 2011.