King Charles is set to visit Samoa and Australia this year (Image: Getty)
King Charles will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa on October 21 and visit Australia later this year, Express.co.uk can report.
Sources reveal that aides are currently reviewing a foreign visit schedule to Samoa and Australia and have initiated preliminary plans which include site visits in preparation for a scaled-down Commonwealth tour by their Majesties.
King Charles, 75, was expected to attend the 27th CHOGM on October 21–25 before his cancer diagnosis was announced. However, Buckingham Palace has been reluctant to confirm the King’s attendance due to His Majesty’s poor health. With the recent improvement in his condition, he has now been given the go-ahead to attend.
“The King has instructed staff to push full steam ahead with plans for the visit,” the source said. “He sees it as an important part of the Commonwealth and holding the union together. His health is improving, and he feels confident that he will be able to make an appearance at the [CHOGM] event.”
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The 27th CHOGM will be the first under the King’s reign. CHOGM consists of 56 member countries from across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific and will be the first time the high-level meeting will be hosted by a small island state in Samoa.
“The Monarch’s attendance at the CHOGM is being viewed as instrumental in preserving Commonwealth unity,” the source said.
“Charles feels it important to show his support for the Commonwealth and demonstrate what the union can do for them. He [the King] wants to emphasise the positive aspects of being part of the union and dispel the myth that the Commonwealth is just a colony.”
The source adds that Palace aides have scheduled a site visit to strategise a plan for the visit. The source tells Express.co.uk that this visit is deemed crucial for maintaining Australia's allegiance to the Commonwealth, particularly as calls for a republic gain momentum in Australia.
Anti-monarchists were recently filmed beheading a statue of King George V to the soundtrack of God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols in Melbourne.
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Vandals covered the statue in red paint before they sprayed the words: 'The colony will fall' - a phrase used by Antifa and hard-left groups in previous attacks. Assaults on royal and colonial-era monuments have been gathering pace throughout the Commonwealth including Canada which is said to be a “rather unsettling” situation to the establishment.
“Australia is key especially due to the growing support for a republic there,” the source said. “There’s also a growing anti-monarchist movement developing in Canada which can be extremely damaging to the Commonwealth.”
In a Commonwealth Day message earlier this year, the King described "diversity" as the Commonwealth's core "strength" and said the 56 countries comprising it were a "precious source of strength, inspiration, and pride" to him.
“The King remains optimistic about the trip and is determined to keep the Commonwealth together,” the source said. “The tour will be very much scaled-down and aides are also looking at holding events at times that fit more within the UK’s time zone so that the King can remain strong and healthy during the visit.”
Buckingham Palace has been approached for comment.
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